A joint committee on trade cooperation between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam made its debut in Seoul on February 24 with the aim of supporting business links and increasing bilateral trade.

The establishment of the committee was the result of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) in late 2009.

 

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Hoang Xuan Hai, Minister-Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul, described the initiative to set up the committee as a significant step towards an agreement on Vietnam-RoK strategic partnership, which was reached during President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to Hanoi last October. Under the agreement, Vietnam and the RoK will strive to double their current trade value to US$20 billion by 2015 and gradually balance their trade over time.

 

Mr Hai spoke highly of the vigorous development of bilateral economic and trade ties in recent times, as well as Vietnam’s advantages in attracting foreign investors.

 

“Vietnam welcomes and creates the best possible conditions for foreign investors to do business in Vietnam on the basis of mutual benefit,” said Mr Hai.

 

For his part, Kim Wan-hee, KOIMA President and committee president, highlighted the results of economic and trade cooperation between the RoK and Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992.

 

He recalled former State President Tran Duc Luong’s visit to the RoK in 2001, where the two countries signed an agreement on comprehensive cooperation in the 21st century, laying a firm foundation for expanding bilateral cooperation in many areas.  

 

He said Vietnam’s Doi Moi (Renewal) and market economic policy has helped attract foreign investors, including those from the RoK. So far, RoK investment has created more than 400,000 jobs and contributed US$1 billion to the Vietnamese State budget.

 

Despite the global economic turmoil, two-way trade last year fetched US$10 billion, with Vietnam’s exports increasing by 16 percent. The RoK also became Vietnam’s largest foreign investor in terms of the number of projects valued at more than US$20 billion.

 

(VOVNEWS)