Government officials from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have discussed measures to raise two-way trade to 100 billion USD this year despite regional and global economic difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Vietnam Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh (Source: VNA)

At their recent meeting in Seoul, Vietnam Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh and the RoK’s Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) Park Ki-young agreed on four main orientations for the two ministries’ action plan to achieve the goal.

The orientations include intensifying RoK investment attraction; supporting RoK businesses in Vietnam; increasing the competitiveness of Vietnamese exporters and creating favourable conditions for them, especially those operating in the fields of garment and textiles, footwear, wood processing, agro-fishery, and food processing; and stepping up the transfer of technology from the RoK to raise the competitiveness of Vietnam’s automobile, garment, chemical, and manufacturing sectors.

The action plan is expected to be signed by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and RoK Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo during the latter’s Vietnam visit slated for late March or early April.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Khanh said that his ministry is willing to support RoK enterprises which are facing difficulties in customs clearance of imports from China.

For his part, Park affirmed Vietnam is the RoK’s important partner, and hoped that Vietnam will become an essential link in the supply chain of Korean businesses, particularly in automobile manufacturing and electronic sectors.

Emphasising the necessity of diversifying the supply chain in the region, the Vietnamese official expressed his hope that the RoK will become a supplier of materials for Vietnam, especially in the fields of garment and textiles, footwear, and wood processing.

He suggested the RoK side to closely coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade to push up the RoK Ministry of Agriculture’s permission of Vietnam’s exports of fresh fruits such as red-flesh dragon fruit and grapefruit.

During his stay in Seoul, Deputy Minister Khanh also had working sessions with Yoo Myung-hee, Minister for Trade under the MOTIE, and Kang Myung-soo, Standing Commissioner of the Korea Trade Commission.