South Korea's industry ministry said Monday it has hosted a business forum with Vietnam to seek new opportunities for partnerships in chips, artificial intelligence and other areas.

Around 500 government and business officials from both countries attended the event, which took place during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The Vietnamese prime minister started his four-day trip to South Korea the previous day.

"Among the 146 countries investing in Vietnam, South Korea stands as the largest, with investment exceeding $87 billion on around 10,000 projects. We highly appreciate South Korean businesses' contributions to Vietnam's economy and society," the Vietnamese prime minister said.

During the event, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun expressed hope to expand trade and investment ties with the Southeast Asian country and to collaborate in other economic areas, including supply chains.

"The two governments plan to make proactive efforts to cooperate in expanding trade and investment, maintaining a stable supply chain and addressing energy sectors, including climate change and nuclear reactors," Ahn added.

The two countries also signed 23 memoranda of understanding in biotechnology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, education and health care, among other fields, during the forum, the ministry added.

"The forum has paved new grounds to diversify and elevate the economic cooperation between South Korea and Vietnam," the ministry said in a statement, adding the government will continue to support businesses to help them maintain stable business activities in Vietnam. (Yonhap)