Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and South Korea has increased 57 fold over the past decades, from US$500,000 in 1992 to $28.8 billion in 2014. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) came into effect yesterday, according to a Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) press release on Saturday.

The ministry said the FTA will contribute to boosting trade and investment co-operation between the two countries.

The two sides will establish a ministerial level joint committee and subcommittees on goods trade, customs, trade defence, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT) to accelerate the implementation of the agreement.

Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and South Korea has increased 57 fold over the past decades, from US$500,000 in 1992 to $28.8 billion in 2014.

In 2014, the RoK was the third largest trade partner of Viet Nam, after China and the US, while Viet Nam is the RoK's sixth largest export market. Two-way trade value recorded an increase of 5.7 per cent from 2013, with Viet Nam's exports to the RoK at $7.1 billion, up 7.9 per cent, and its imports at $21.7 billion, up 5 per cent.

According to the General Department of Customs, in the first 11 months of this year, bilateral trade hit $33.6 billion, a year-on-year rise of 27.6 per cent.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of October 20 this year, the RoK is the biggest among 105 nations and territories investing in Viet Nam, with 4,777 projects worth $43.6 billion in total.

The RoK projects are mainly poured into industrial processing and manufacturing, real estate, retail and wholesale, and construction, with total investment exceeding $5 billion.

There are nearly 3,000 RoK enterprises operating in Viet Nam. They create jobs for more than 400,000 labourers. — VNS