Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung made the appeal at the first-ever Maekyung Korea-Vietnam Forum held in Hanoi on December 6 as part of activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-South Korea diplomatic ties.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung at the event
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The Deputy PM stressed that the strategic partnership relations between the two countries have seen impressive development in various fields, especially in economy, trade, investment and ODA cooperation. The South Korea is currently the largest FDI investor in Vietnam with more than 6,300 projects worth nearly 60 billion USD.
He said both sides need to bolster collaboration to carry out the Vietnam-South Korea free trade agreement in an effective manner and increase two-way trade value to 100 billion USD by 2020 as agreed by leaders of the two countries at the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Week. Bilateral trade was value at 56 billion USD in the January-November period this year.
According to Chairman of Maekyung Media Group Chang Dae-Whan, Vietnam has become a key in the South Korea’s new look-south strategy. In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, the South Korea wants to cooperate with Vietnam to create the foundation for a society of information technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), he added.
Meanwhile, VCCI President Vu Tien Loc noted that cooperation scale between the two sides is demonstrated in bilateral trade, with the RoK now being the second largest trade partner of Vietnam, following China. To ensure sustainable economic ties, Loc suggested that South Korea businesses increase investment in support industry and share experience in developing large corporations and brands with Vietnam.
Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Lee In-ho, for his part, underlined that Vietnam has a crucial role in the South Korea’s policy in Southeast Asia. He affirmed that the South Korea Government will support small-medium enterprises in Vietnam in joining global value chains, provide training for Vietnamese engineers and back Vietnamese support industry and garments. The moves gear towards development for mutual benefits, he said.
Trade between the two nations has increased 91-fold, from 500 million USD in 1992 to 45.1 billion USD in 2016. The ASEAN-Korea FTA (2005), Vietnam’s joining of the World Trade Organisation in 2007, and the Vietnam-Korea FTA (2015) have contributed to expanding bilateral trade.
People-to-people ties between the two countries have strengthened. Vietnam is an attractive destination for Korean tourists. Some 1.5 million Korean visitors visited Vietnam in 2016. Vietnamese people, especially youngsters, are now quite familiar with Korean culture.
