Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on June 22 said that economic cooperation has continued to be a bright spot in relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is once again proved by a large number of Korean businesses that are visiting the country, attending a business forum and signing cooperation agreements during the State visit to Vietnam by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Speaking at the meeting with the RoK’s Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyungho who is also Minister of Economy and Finance, Khai affirmed that economic cooperation between the two countries is flourishing more than ever.

The two Deputy PMs reviewed the economic cooperation in general and the implementation of the second Vietnam - RoK Deputy Prime Minister-level Economic Dialogue in particular. They also made recommendations to further promote the cooperation.

The RoK is currently the biggest investor of Vietnam in terms of direct investment with accumulated investment of 82 billion USD, the second biggest partner in development cooperation, tourism, and labour; and the third in terms of trade cooperation with trade revenue of 86.4 billion USD in 2022.

Khai suggested the two sides continue to promote economic cooperation in the direction of balance, sustainability, and mutual benefit. The two sides signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of Korea Plus in Vietnam and Vietnam Plus in Korea" and a joint statement on establishing an electronic origin data exchange system. Those are very important prerequisites for the two countries to further promote bilateral trade.

Khai said that although the bilateral trade cooperation has improved, Vietnam still sees a large trade deficit, therefore, the two sides also need to coordinate to implement measures to further open their markets.

He welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent by the two sides on cooperation to promote the startup ecosystem and exchange of human resources. He hoped that the RoK will increase the reception of Vietnamese workers and expand labour cooperation between the two countries.

Khai said the Vietnamese government encourages Korean businesses to make new investments and expand their investment, especially in priority areas such as infrastructure development, production of high-tech electronic equipment, semiconductors, Big Data, biotechnology, and smart city.

He proposed the RoK create favourable conditions and loosen technical measures on food safety and animal and plant quarantine to promote the export of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to the RoK.

Khai also called on the RoK to further expand the scale of grant aid to Vietnam, especially in the fields of research and development, and innovation.

For his part, Choo said that Vietnam is the country that RoK has the deepest cooperation with. The ongoing trip to Vietnam is the first state visit to Southeast Asia by President Yoon Suk Yeol, showing that the RoK attaches great importance to its relations with Vietnam.

He also shared his points of view on Khai's proposals and informed the Vietnamese Deputy PM of the areas that the RoK wants to cooperate with Vietnam, including digital and green development.

Source: Nhan Dan