VN-Korea seek $100b in trade

HCM CITY — Việt Nam and South Korea agreed to further boost bilateral co-operation in industry, trade and energy at two joint committee meetings held in HCM City on February 2.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Korean Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy convened the eighth meeting of the Joint Committee between Việt Nam and Korea in Co-operation on Nuclear Power, Energy, Industry and Trade, and the second meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Việt Nam-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

The meetings, which were co-chaired by Minister Trần Tuấn Anh and Minister Paik Ungyu, reviewed previous joint meetings’ accomplishments and unresolved issues, and mapped out measures for further co-operation.

At the joint committee meeting on nuclear power, energy, industry and trade, both sides agreed on a number of issues for bilateral cooperation.

These include co-operation in construction of power plants under the BOT model; oil and gas fields; renewable energy and energy security management; support industry development; dialogue on automotive industries; a Việt Nam-South Korea technological incubator; the garment and textile industry; and distribution and logistics.

They agreed to work together to promote the export of Vietnamese agro-fishery products and processed food to South Korea and to deepen trade, industry and energy ties to realise the target of US$100 billion in bilateral trade by 2020.

The agreements will function as a premise for the two sides to implement specific and practical projects which aim to further bilateral ties in industry, trade and energy in 2018 and beyond.

At the second meeting of the Joint Committee of Việt Nam – Korea Free Trade Agreement, the two ministers spoke highly of the growing economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries over recent years, particularly since the VKFTA took effect in late 2015.

They agreed on methods of dealing with issues emerging during the implementation of the VKFTA and to review the committed content to ensure that the FTA will benefit both sides’ business communities and help maintain stable trade and investment growth in a balanced manner.

Both sides recognised each other’s efforts in bilateral cooperation activities in sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT), and trade protection and investment, with both seeking to fulfill commitments in VKFTA.

Concluding the meeting, the two sides approved a joint statement of the second meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of Việt Nam –Korea Free Trade Agreement.

At the meetings, the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the establishment of a joint website on Việt Nam-Korea FTA, and another MOU on setting up a task force in charge of handling difficulties faced by businesses of the two sides (Việt Nam plus-Korea plus).

The two ministers also witnessed the signing of agreements, including the Letter of Intent (LOI) between the Industry Agency and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) on the establishment of the Việt Nam - Korea Consultancy and Technology Solutions Center.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, bilateral trade reached $61.5 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 41.3 per cent.

Việt Nam’s exports to South Korea reached $14.8 billion, up 30 per cent, and its imports from South Korea were worth $46.7 billion, up 45.3 per cent.

South Korea is Việt Nam’s largest foreign investor among 125 countries and territories, with accumulative registered capital of $57.7 billion as of December 2017. — Đức

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