Vietnam Urges South Korea to Expand Investments in AI Data Centers

Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, during talks with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik in Seoul, affirmed Vietnam's desire to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. Man urged South Korea to expand its substantial investments in Vietnam's priority sectors, including infrastructure, semiconductors, large-scale AI data centers, energy, and seaports. Vietnam also seeks to integrate its enterprises deeper into South Korea's manufacturing supply chains and widen market access for mutual trade. Speaker Cho noted that Chairman Man's visit will reinforce inter-parliamentary cooperation and confirmed South Korea's readiness to accompany Vietnam through its next development chapter. Both leaders pledged to pursue $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2026 and target $150 billion by 2030, driven by balanced and sustainable growth. They also agreed to prioritize non-refundable grants and concessional Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, and to make science and technology cooperation a new growth engine for bilateral ties. Furthermore, both nations will refine investment policies to ensure businesses from each country can operate with security and long-term stability. Joint efforts in workforce training, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges will also be expanded. Policies protecting the legitimate rights of both communities, including approximately 100,000 multicultural Vietnamese-South Korean families, will be improved. Both sides emphasized that parliamentary diplomacy plays a pivotal role in monitoring and executing bilateral commitments, translating state-level agreements into concrete, substantive progress. Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1992, and elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022. South Korea currently ranks as Vietnam's second-largest foreign investor, second-largest tourist source, second-largest ODA donor, third-largest trade partner, and third-largest labor market. Bilateral trade reached $89.5 billion in 2025.