The Presdient(left) and Vietnamese President Triet

The President and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet met at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi for a bilateral summit on Wednesday (Oct. 21).

The two Presidents talked head to head on ways to deepen their bilateral relations, which had already escalated at an astounding pace in a short period.

In the first place, they agreed to raise the current "comprehensive partnership" between the two countries to a "strategic cooperative partnership," and concurred to open new inter-ministerial dialogues to deal with diplomatic and security issues.

They also saw eye to eye on cooperating through international channels, such as ASEAN and the UN. In particular, the two Presidents pledged to work hard to enhance relations between Korea and ASEAN. Vietnam will hold the chair of the regional organization next year.

In ways to further boost economic collaboration, the two leaders agreed to crank up the bilateral trade volume to US$20 billion by 2015. Also, President Lee recognized Vietnam''s "Market Economy Status," which President Triet appreciated.

Lee and Triet promised to continue to cooperate in the sociopolitical and industrial fields, and concurred that friendship between the Korean and Vietnamese people is the cornerstone for the continuous partnership between the two countries.