Invest KOREA

South Korea will complete its domestic procedures to start free trade talks with Vietnam as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties with the fast-growing market, the finance ministry said Monday.

South Korea and Vietnam finalized a joint study on the feasibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the countries in October last year.

"Based on the results of the joint study, we are taking domestic procedures in order to launch negotiations on a FTA with Vietnam," the ministry said in a press release.

South Korea will push to include not just products, services and investment but also other areas of mutual interest such as intellectual property rights in its free trade talks with Vietnam, the ministry added.

The move comes as both countries mark the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties.

South Korea already has a FTA on merchandise with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that took effect in 2010. Similar deals on services and investments also came into effect.

Vietnam is a member of ASEAN but South Korea wants to seal bilateral FTAs with some specific Southeast Asian countries.

Vietnam is a fast-emerging country whose economy is growing at an annual rate of 5-8 percent on average.

South Korea's exports to Vietnam stood at US$13.6 billion last year, an eight-fold rise from a decade ago, according to the ministry.

Seoul will keep working to strengthen cooperative ties with Vietnam as both nations have mutual supplementary economic structures, it said.

Through governmental negotiation channels, the two will also seek expanding cooperation in power plant construction and other areas. South Korea will also support its companies wishing to invest in the Southeast Asian country, the ministry added.

Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (Feb. 13, 2012)