Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho has courtesy meeting with Korea Customs Counselor

Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs Nguyen Van Tho meets WCO’s representative

Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho has a courtesy meeting with Korea Customs Counselor Byung Ha You. Photo: H.N

Deputy Director General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs Nguyen Van Tho welcomed the visit of Counselor Byung Ha You at Vietnam Customs.

At the meeting, Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho said that the cooperation between Vietnam and Korea Customs had achieved positive results. In 1995, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Korea signed an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in the customs field.

In the context of the development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the two sides have agreed to revise the agreement to expand the cooperation fields, such as exchanging e-data on customs and Authorized Economic Operators. Accordingly, on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Korea, on December 5, 2022, the two sides signed a protocol amending the agreement.

The two sides have piloted the electronic origin data exchange, exchanging information on the anti-smuggling and illegal transportation of goods. Furthermore, over the past years, Vietnam Customs has established and maintained many supportive forms for the Korean business community in Vietnam and removed difficulties and problems with new policies and procedures related to import, export, tax and customs.

Vietnam Customs has annually cooperated with the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to hold dialogue conferences with Korean enterprises and answered questions of enterprises at the conferences.

The cooperation activities have helped the two customs administrations accomplish the task of trade facilitation and border control when the cooperation partnership has developed in many fields such as investment, trade, labour, culture, education, tourism, and sports.

As the Counselor to Vietnam, Mr Byung Ha You has not only helped the Korean business community and business association understand Vietnam's laws and policies and customs regulations but also removed problems of enterprises, thereby promoting trade facilitation between the two countries, the Deputy Director General said.

Counselor Byung Ha You said that the Vietnamese Government had implemented many solutions to facilitate trade and attract investment into Vietnam. To date, 9,000 Korean enterprises have invested in Vietnam. Customs play a key role in achieving this achievement.

"Soon, as a Korean Customs Counselor to Vietnam, I will try my best to work as a bridge to bring the partnership between the two countries, the two Customs administrations and businesses to a new level," said Counselor Byung Ha You.

Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho hoped that, motivated by his experience in customs operations in Korea, Mr Byung Ha You would promote the cooperation between the two administrations in trade facilitation and well control, contributing to achieving the growth target in bilateral trade in the next years.

It is expected that in October, Vietnam Customs will coordinate with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to organize the 2023 WCO Technology Conference and Exhibition in Hanoi. Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho would like to invite Korea Customs to participate in sharing the experiences and introducing new equipment and technologies in customs operations.