US$100 billion targeted for Vietnam-RoK bilateral trade by 2020

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and Chairman of the RoK’s Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy Kim Hyun-chul (L)

On December 5, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung had a meeting with Chairman of the RoK’s Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy Kim Hyun-chul as part of his visit to the country.

The Deputy PM praised the RoK for regarding Vietnam as a key partner in its New Southern Policy as well as the ASEAN-RoK Future-Oriented Community initiative with a particular focus on the “three Ps”, referring to people, peace and prosperity.

Dung highlighted the sound development of Vietnam-RoK ties, noting that both nations have become important partners to each other across multiple fields.

Vietnam has always attributed great importance to its strategic cooperative partnership with the RoK, he said while urging the two nations to step up cooperation in specific areas as they boast huge potential for wider cooperation.

He asked the RoK to work closely with Vietnam on speeding up quarantine procedures of Vietnamese farm produce, increasing the import of Vietnamese pork and fresh agricultural products, improving competitiveness of Vietnamese goods, and helping Vietnamese goods become involved in the Korean global value chain.

Dung called on the RoK Government and economic associations to incentivize local businesses to expand their investment in Vietnam in such fields as support industry, mechanics-manufacturing, auto industry, electronics, semi-conductor production, clean and renewable energy, infrastructure development at industrial parks, smart urban area building, modern agriculture, and large-scale infrastructure projects through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

RoK enterprises are encouraged to participate in the equitization and pestment of State-owned enterprises in accordance with Vietnamese law and support domestic startups, he said while assuring the Vietnamese Government’s readiness to offer optimal conditions for investors.

Dung also proposed the RoK provide greater development support to Vietnam, receive more Vietnamese guest workers, particularly skilled labourers, and work hand in hand with Vietnam in dealing with labour issues, including those regarding Vietnamese workers overstaying their visas in the country.

In reply, Kim Hyun-chul described Vietnam as the focus of the New Southern Policy, saying that the RoK’s Government, relevant ministries, and agencies will continue to realize the common perceptions reached by leaders towards the stronger development of the bilateral relationship.

The RoK will bolster its import of Vietnamese goods and facilitate technology transfer to help Vietnamese businesses improve their competitiveness, he said, adding that his nation will help Vietnam train high-quality human resources and is ready to encourage RoK businesses to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in infrastructure development, and share its development experience with Vietnam.

Vietnam is seen as the RoK’s leading partner in development assistance, the official said, and promised his country’s willingness to beef up cooperation with Vietnam in labour, and offer the best possible conditions for its enterprises to participate in such areas as petro-chemistry, new energy, and green growth in Vietnam.

The same day, Dung had a meeting with Chairman of the ROK’s Presidential Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee Chang Byung-gyu, during which he called for the RoK’s coordination and support in building policies, developing and applying new technologies, developing high-quality human resources, and carrying out joint projects so as to cope with the impact of and optimize the opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution.

He asked the RoK committee to closely coordinate with other relevant ministries and agencies of the country to accelerate the implementation of cooperation projects between the two countries, including a project on building the e-Government model.

Chang Byung assured the committee’s readiness to hold forums for the two countries’ young people to exchange views on startups and Industry 4.0.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung's three-day visit to the RoK has been successful with substantial outcomes, which has made positive contributions to developing the strategic partnership between the two nations.