Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue hosted a reception on October 24 for Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Korea’s Foreign Ministry Yun Kang-hyeon who is in Hanoi to attend the 17th meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic and Scientific-Technological Cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue (R) and Deputy Minister for
Economic Affairs of the Republic of Korea’s Foreign Ministry Yun Kang-hyeon 

During the meeting, Yun briefed his host on the outcomes of the session and applauded the flourishing bilateral relations across multiple fields, particularly in investment, trade and tourism. Vietnam is destined to become the RoK’s third largest trade partner in 2020 with two-way trade expecting to hit US$100 billion, he said.

The Korean official said he hopes that the second Deputy Prime Ministers’ Dialogue between the two countries will be held in the central city of Da Nang next year.

Deputy PM Hue, for his part, said both nations have become involved in multiple exchange mechanisms and they held the Deputy Prime Ministers’ Dialogue for the first time in Seoul in June.

He highlighted the significance of the 17th meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic and Scientific-Technological Cooperation which reviewed what had been achieved in the implementation of commitments by top Vietnamese and Korean leaders in the first Deputy Prime Ministers’ Dialogue.

Hue also asked the Inter-Government Committee to work out breakthrough solutions to bolster the bilateral trade and soon balance the trade as Vietnam has run trade deficit with the RoK.

At the 17th meeting of the committee, the two countries scrutinized the first Deputy Ministers’ Dialogue on Economic Cooperation, during which the two sides reached a consensus on initiatives and cooperation contents in the spheres of trade and investment; finance – banking and development cooperation; infrastructure, construction and energy; industry, agriculture, science-technology and information and communications technology; and labour and healthcare.

They outlined cooperation orientations for the time to come, and prepared for PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the RoK on the occasion of the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit in November.

Vietnam and the RoK have seen healthy growth in their bilateral ties over the past year with comprehensive cooperation having delivered benefits, and deepened mutual understanding and trust between their people.

Last year, the RoK was Vietnam’s third largest trade partner, just after China and the EU. It was also the fourth largest importer and second largest exporter of Vietnam which exported US$18.2 billion to while importing US$47.5 billion worth of products from the RoK.