Minister Tran Tuan Anh of Viet Nam and Minister Paik Ungyu of South Korea sign an MOU to establish a joint website on the Viet Nam-Korea FTA in HCM City on February 2. — VNS photo
Viet Nam and 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 Tran Tuan 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 mode; oil and gas fields; renewable energy and energy security management; support industry development; dialogue on automotive industries; a Việt Nam-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 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 Viet 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 Viet 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 Viet Nam-Korea FTA, and another MOU on setting up a task force in charge of handling difficulties faced by businesses of the two sides (Viet Nam plus-Korea plus).
The two ministers also witnessed signing agreements, including the Letter of Intent (LOI) between the Industry Agency and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) on the establishment of the Viet 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.
Viet Nam’s exports to Korea reached $14.8 billion, up 30 per cent, and its imports from Korea were worth $46.7 billion, up 45.3 per cent.
South Korea is Viet Nam’s largest foreign investor among 125 countries and territories, with accumulative registered capital of $57.7 billion as of December 2017. — VNS