The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy convened the seventh meeting of the Vietnam-ROK Joint Committee for Cooperation in Nuclear power, Industry and Trade, and the first meeting of the Joint Committee for the implementation of the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) in Seoul on December 7.
The meetings between the Vietnamese delegation, headed by Minister Tran Tuan Anh, and the ROK delegation, led by Minister Joo Hyung-hwan, aimed to discuss and handle the unresolved issues in an effort to promote bilateral trade and investment relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, taking into account the differences in development level between the two countries.
Concluding the meetings, the two sides signed the minutes and issued a joint statement.
In the minutes of the seventh meeting of the joint committee for cooperation in nuclear power, industry and trade, both sides agreed on a number of issues for bilateral cooperation in energy and minerals, the Vietnam-ROK technological incubator, the manufacturing of materials and accessories, the development of human resources for the industrial technology, the garment and textile industry, distribution activities and logistics, and trade promotion. This will function as a premise for the two sides to build and implement specific and practical projects aiming to further bilateral ties in the fields of industry, trade and energy.
In the joint statement of the first meeting of the VKFTA joint committee, both sides recognised each other’s efforts in implementing bilateral cooperation activities in sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT), trade protection and investment, seeking to effectively fulfill the commitments in VKFTA.
The two ministers spoke highly of the growing economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries over recent years, particularly since the VKFTA took effect in late 2015. They agreed to exert continuous efforts to deepen trade, industrial and energy ties, contributing to realising the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries and achieving the goal of US$70 billion in two-way trade by 2020.
Both sides also agreed that the next meetings of the joint committees would be organised in 2017, with the specific time and location to be decided later.
Source: Nhan Dan
Key words: Vietnam, ROK, promote, trade and investment
