Spotlights in Vietnam-RoK Trade Relations
Since Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) first established their diplomatic relation in 1992, the bilateral relationship has been developing well in different fields including trade, investment, culture, education and others. Since the ASEAN-RoK Free Trade Agreement took effect in July 2007 and Vietnam became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Vietnam-RoK relations have been strengthened considerably.
In 2008, bilateral trade came to US$8.85 billion, which is 34.4 percent more than in 2007, double that of 2006 and 10 times that in 1992. Last year, despite the global financial crisis and economic downturn, bilateral trade reached almost US$10 billion, of which Vietnam’s exports to the RoK increased 16 percent, in value, over 2008. The RoK has become the fourth biggest trade partner of Vietnam.
With a total investment capital of more than US$20 billion, the RoK has become one of the biggest foreign investors in Vietnam.
When former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong visited the RoK in 2001, the two countries signed an agreement for comprehensive cooperation in the 21st century, laying the foundation for multifaceted cooperation development in the future.
While RoK President Lee Mung-pak visited Vietnam in September 2009, the two countries’ leaders agreed to upgrade the bilateral relation to a ‘strategic partnership’ relation, increase bilateral trade to US$20 billion in 2015 and gradually improve the trade balance.
Vietnamese and RoK businesses have been taking actions to make the above-mentioned target come true. While accompanying Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to the Jeju Island in the RoK (the Prime Minister went there to join a summit meeting celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN-RoK dialogue relation from May 31 to June 2, 2009), Vietnamese leading businesses and economic groups signed almost 20 agreements and contracts worth billions of US dollars with RoK partners.
While the week celebrating the 17th anniversary of the Vietnam-RoK diplomatic relationship took place in early October 2009, at the Vietnam National Convention Center, 50 Vietnamese businesses and 17 companies and groups that are members of the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) met and signed many agreements.
A RoK-Vietnam trade cooperation joint committee was inaugurated on February 24, 2010 in Seoul (the RoK’s capital). The committee was founded based on a memorandum of understanding signed by KOIMA and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) in October 2009. Under this memorandum, the two parties will exchange information about trade opportunities, industrial and investment cooperation, joint venture and company representative establishment, and trade, tax and banking laws/policies, and promote cooperation in trade, industrial and technical exchange.
KOIMA has more than 1,000 members that are importers. It has cooperative relations with more than 100 economies worldwide.
The RoK-Vietnam trade cooperation joint committee is an important bridge between Vietnamese and RoK businesses and something that is expected to bring bilateral trade and investment relations to a new height./.
Tags: Vietnam ROK cooperation
Posted by VBN on Mar 7 2010. Filed under Int'l Cooperation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
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