Bae Han-chul, Chairman of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, and other members of the International Friendship Exchange Delegation are visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from the 16th to the 21st.
On the first day of the visit, June 17th, at the official invitation of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, they paid a courtesy visit to Nguyen Thi Le, Chairwoman of the People's Council, and discussed mutual cooperation and joint growth in the fields of economic trade, cultural tourism, and agriculture between the two regions.
The Gyeongbuk Provincial Council friendship exchange delegation is taking a commemorative photo with members of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council in Vietnam.
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992, Korea and Vietnam have expanded exchanges in various fields such as economy, culture, tourism, and agriculture. In 2017, Gyeongsangbuk-do co-hosted the Ho Chi Minh-Gyeongju World Culture Expo and signed a friendship exchange agreement.
Vietnam is Korea's third-largest trading partner, and even after the COVID-19 pandemic, its economic growth rate has exceeded 8%. Ho Chi Minh City is pushing to develop itself into an economic, financial, trade, and science hub leading the national economy of Southeast Asia by 2030.
In addition, Long Thanh International Airport, which will serve both civilian and military purposes, is being constructed in Dong Nai Province, about 40 km from Ho Chi Minh City, with the goal of opening in 2026. As Gyeongbuk is also building the Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport, it is expected that exchanges between Gyeongbuk and Ho Chi Minh City will further expand in the future due to these similar circumstances.
On this day, Bae Han-chul and the International Friendship Exchange Delegation mentioned the historical connection of two princes of the Ly Dynasty of Vietnam who became the progenitors of the Jeongseon Lee and Hwasan Lee clans in Korea. They also introduced the existence of Ly Dynasty descendants' heritage sites and the creation of a Vietnamese village in Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk.
Notably, the Korean community in Ho Chi Minh City numbers about 80,000, and there are approximately 1,940 Korean companies operating in the city. Many young and talented Vietnamese workers are employed there. In addition, manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics' partners headquartered in Gyeongbuk have entered the market, and agricultural products are being exported through large chain marts, promoting mutual benefit between the two regions.
Furthermore, they expressed interest in the '2024 Ho Chi Minh City International Ginseng and Aromatic & Herbal Festival' hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee from June 24th to 26th, and conveyed that many companies from Gyeongbuk will participate as part of exchange and cooperation efforts.
Nguyen Thi Le, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, who welcomed the Gyeongbuk International Friendship Exchange Delegation, said, "We have built a cooperative relationship with Gyeongsangbuk-do since 2017, and when COVID-19 broke out in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021, Gyeongbuk provided 250,000 masks, which was deeply moving. Especially since there are many Korean residents and companies in Ho Chi Minh City contributing greatly to the city's development, let's use this visit as an opportunity to establish an even more active cooperative relationship."
Bae Han-chul, head of the visiting delegation, stated, "Vietnam has an average age of 32.5 and an average birth rate of 2.0, with a population approaching 100 million, so its human resources have great potential and infinite development possibilities. Let's have the Ho Chi Minh People's Council and the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council lead regional development through mutual cooperation and personnel exchanges in the fields of economy, trade, cultural tourism, and agriculture and fisheries."
Gyeongbuk provincial council members participated in the '2024 Vietnam Gyeongbuk Special Sales Event,' organized to expand the market for promising agricultural and specialty products from Gyeongbuk in Ho Chi Minh City. They encouraged related organizations and carried out promotional activities for local Vietnamese consumers.
They also invited Gyeongbuk businesspeople based in Ho Chi Minh City, who are members of the local Daegu-Gyeongbuk Chamber of Commerce, to seek cooperation in increasing exports of Gyeongbuk's agricultural and specialty products, and requested efforts for mutual development between Korea and Vietnam.
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