Deputy Director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies Pham Binh An speaks at the event. — VNA/VNS Photo

Japan and the RoK are important trading partners of Viet Nam, but the proportion of Vietnamese goods in the total import turnover of these markets is still modest, accounting for only 2.7 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.

Deputy Director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies Pham Binh An made the statement at a workshop discussing measures to promote trade links between Viet Nam and Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK), held by the Centre of International Integration Support and the Investment and Trade Promotion Center of HCM City (ITPC) on Wednesday in the city.

Viet Nam has signed many free trade agreements with the two countries, including the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Viet Nam – Korea Free Trade Agreement.

According to An, Viet Nam has strengths in exports with many key items such as textiles and garments, footwear, and agricultural products. For the first time, Viet Nam's import-export turnover exceeded US$700 billion in 2022, putting the country in the group of leading economies in international trade.

However, he said that Viet Nam's exports face many challenges this year due to the decrease in global consumer demand, particularly in important export markets of Viet Nam. Therefore, exploring potential markets such as Japan and the RoK will be important to increasing Viet Nam’s export growth.

From statistics on Viet Nam's export turnover to Japan and the RoK, as well as the market scale of the countries, it can be seen that there still remains great potential and opportunities for Viet Nam to promote the export of textile and garment products, leather and footwear products, and agro-aquatic products, to these markets, said Do Quoc Hung, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of Asia-Africa Markets.

Choi Kyu Chul, Vice President of the Korean Chamber of Business in Viet Nam (KOCHAM), stressed the need to have short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies to further promote trade ties between the two countries.

In the short term, it is necessary to prioritise ensuring the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods in the RoK market in terms of price, diversity, packaging, and marketing strategies.

In the medium and long term, Viet Nam should pay attention to developing a high-quality workforce and investing in infrastructure development and supporting industries such as materials and components, he stressed.

South Korean businesses hope that the Vietnamese Government will have new policies to further support the development of industries and businesses in the near future, especially supporting environmentally-friendly industries, he went on. — VNS