Measures to boost cooperative ties between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) in the fields of trade, investment, labour, environment, infrastructure, science-technology, banking-finance, among others were discussed at the 17th meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic and Scientific-Technological Cooperation in Hanoi on October 23.

At the 17th session of the Vietnam-RoK Joint Economic Committee 

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang said the RoK is a leading partner of Vietnam as it has registered some 66 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI).

Two-way trade reaches nearly 70 billion USD each year, he said, adding Vietnam and the RoK, together with some other countries, are working towards completing negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019.

Regarding the bilateral relations, Thang said the existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements have contributed greatly to the thriving ties between the two nations. However, there is huge room for them to improve their multifaceted cooperation in the time ahead, he stressed.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs under the RoK’s Foreign Ministry Yun Kang-hyeon noted that both nations are carrying out their cooperation commitments, which range from trade, investment, technology to supporting industry and labour.

He expressed his belief that the bilateral collaboration will be strengthened in the coming time.

At the meeting, the two sides looked back at the first Vietnam-RoK Deputy Ministers’ Dialogue on Economic Cooperation in Seoul on June 21, 2019, during which the two nations discussed and reached 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 said the initiatives have helped settle challenges and open new opportunities for economic cooperation between the two nations.

The two sides outlined cooperation orientations for the coming time, and make preparations 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 witnessed robust development in their bilateral ties in the past year. The all-round cooperation has brought benefits, and enhanced mutual understanding and trust between their people.

Last year, the Rok is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam, just after China and the EU. It was also the fourth largest importer and second largest exporter of the Southeast Asian country. Vietnam exported 18.2 billion USD to while importing 47.5 billion USD worth of products from the RoK in 2018.

The escalating trade tensions between the US and China, and between the RoK and Japan made two-way trade slow down from the outset of the year. Trade revenue between the two nations totaled 44 billion USD in the first eight months of the year, only increasing 2 percent as compared to the same time in 2018.