S. Korea, Vietnam agree to boost partnership

BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Vietnam agreed on Friday to further widen "comprehensive partnership relations" by intensively promoting closer cooperation in the fields of economy, investment, education and tourism, Korean officials said.

The agreement was reached at a summit between South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, held on the sidelines of
the seventh summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting.
Noting a 15-fold increase in trade since the establishment of bilateral
diplomatic relations in 1992, Lee stressed that economic cooperation between
South Korea and Vietnam should be further strengthened at a time of global
financial crisis, according to presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
In response, Dung said South Korea became the largest foreign investor in Vietnam
last year and bilateral relations are expected to further expand in economic
cooperation, education, tourism and other fields, said the spokesman.
Dung asked Lee to visit Vietnam in the near future for discussions on forming
sustainable bilateral cooperation. He also expressed high expectations for the
South Korea-ASEAN summit meeting scheduled to be held on the Korean resort island
of Jeju in the first half of next year.