(SEOUL=NEWSIS) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFAT) announced July 12 that it will hold the 14th joint economic commission meeting between Korea and Vietnam on July 14.

MOFAT will suggest the swift ratification and effectuation of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and Vietnam, that Korean companies win contracts to build infrastructure in Vietnam, that Korean financial companies enter the Vietnamese market and that the grievances of Korean companies in Vietnam be resolved.

It will also promote a cooperative project to construct transportation and energy infrastructure in Vietnam, one that was agreed upon at the first financial cooperation conciliation committee meeting between the two countries on June 19, and request Vietnam’s cooperation to establish the corporations and branches of Korean financial companies (Woori Bank, Busan Bank, Nonghyup Bank) in Vietnam.

Korea was Vietnam’s largest investor in 2014, investing USD 2.1 billion and outpacing Japan. With the two countries having officially signed a bilateral FTA on May 5, MOFAT expects trade and investment cooperation between the parties to grow.

According to MOFAT, the countries’ bilateral trade volume increased 61-fold, from USD 493 million in 1992 to USD 30.3 billion in 2014. Korea is Vietnam’s largest foreign investor, having invested a total of USD 18.9 billion in the country. About 4,000 Korean companies have entered the Vietnamese market.

daero@newsis.com

Source Text

Source: Newsis (Jul. 12, 2015)

** This article was translated from the Korean.