The first Vietnam-Korea Economic Fo

The first Vietnam-Korea Economic Forum opened on Thursday in Ha Noi to further promote bilateral trade and investments, especially in the context of Viet Nam's participation in free trade agreements.
Speaking at the forum, the first since Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea signed the bilateral trade agreement on May 5, 2015, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said that Viet Nam and South Korea still had a lot of economic potential to be able to support each other in co-operation and development.

Many similarities in economic development strategies of Viet Nam and Korea would help the two sides boost their economic strengths, Hai said.
Lee Dong Geun, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), also expected that through the forum, firms of the two countries would have more opportunities to further promote trade and investment co-operation in industries such as the support industry, infrastructure and agriculture.
Affirming that Korea was currently Viet Nam's largest foreign investor, Hai said Viet Nam expected the Korean business community to continuously pay attention to them and enlarge their investment in the country, especially in agriculture, education, transport infrastructure, and power, in addition to environment, health care, processed food, manufacturing and supporting industries, through PPP investment or other investment forms.
"The Vietnamese Government pledges to co-operate even more closely with the Korean government as well as its firms to be able to improve the business environment and enhance the competitive edge so that Viet Nam will continue to be an attractive investment destination for investors," Hai said.
Viet Nam would also enhance the investment quality through the attraction of multinational groups to large-sized and high-tech projects, which are expected to help the country take a leap in its economic restructuring, Hai said.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong also suggested South Korean firms invest in industries of fibres, garments and textiles, footwear and agriculture, explaining that Viet Nam would attract investments in select industries in the coming time.
In the framework of the two-day event, the two parties are also focussing on co-operation in three sectors, namely the support industry, agriculture, infrastructure and energy.
At the forum, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vu Tien Loc said he also expected Korean firms to share their experiences in the development of enterprises, start-ups and the formation of a strong business community based on creativity, which are their strengths.
Besides, at the event, the enterprises of two countries will have opportunities to strike up partnerships, as well as find investment opportunities in the industrial and economic zones and localities.
South Korea is currently Viet Nam's largest foreign investor with a total registered capital of US$37.2 billion by the end of last year. In the first ten months of this year, South Korea also ranked first out of the countries investing in Viet Nam with $6.2 billion.
The bilateral trade turnover between the two countries stood at $28.8 billion in 2014. The figure in the first nine months of this year hit $27.3 billion, up more than 30 per cent year-on-year.
The forum, which was organised by VCCI in collaboration with KCCI, attracted more than 400 representatives from government agencies, enterprises and economic experts from the two countries. — VNS