The statement was made by Kyu-Min Baek, director of global innovation at the Korea’s Innobiz Association, at the Viet Nam – Korea small- and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) technology matching conference held in Ha Noi on Thursday.

The seminar was organised in the framework of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to Viet Nam from March 22-24. The event is a chance for Vietnamese enterprises to access advanced South Korean products and technologies and promote opportunities for investment and business co-operation between enterprises from the two countries.

Through this event, Vietnamese businesses can meet and negotiate directly with Korean partners regarding the distribution of products and the transfer of Korean technology into Viet Nam and vice versa.

“There are many advantages in the co-operation of the two countries, such as the cheap labour costs in Viet Nam and the similar culture, although we need lots of time to study the market as well as discover the current situation of the Vietnamese market,” Ju-Yound Youn, president and CEO of Woosang Advanced Material Company told Viet Nam News.

At the first session of the business to business (B2B) conference on Thursday morning, a co-operation agreement was successfully signed between Viet Nam’s Vinh Phuc Investment Trading Company Limited and RoK’s Jeonwoo Precision Company Limited.

“It is the first time my company has taken part in this event. My company specialises in the supporting industry, therefore, one of our most difficult issues is technology and I think South Korean firms can help us deal with this,” said Pham Van Quyet, deputy director of Vinh Phuc Investment Trading Company Limited.

Viet Nam has now emerged as the South Korea’s fourth largest trading partner while the South Korea has become Viet Nam’s second biggest trading partner. Last year, the two countries saw bilateral trade reach US$63.9 billion, an increase of more than 40 per cent year-on-year.

In addition, South Korea is the largest investor in Viet Nam with an accumulated investment amount of $57.9 billion. Viet Nam is a crucial investment destination for the South Korea, which is evidenced by the fact that more than half of Korean businesses (some 5,500 out of about 8,600) operating in the ASEAN region have a presence in the country.

The event was organised by International Intellectual Property Agency (Investip) in accordance with South Korea’s Innobiz Association. It drew the participation of 10 Korean firms and some 60 enterprises from Viet Nam. — VNS