The forum was organised by the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Vietnam Trade Office in the Republic of Korea to connect businesses in the two countries. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hung

SEOULViet Nam News -— The Việt Nam-Korea Business Forum took place in Seoul on Thursday with the focus on opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The forum was organised by the Việt Nam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Việt Nam Trade Office in the Republic of Korea to connect businesses in the two countries.

Present at the event were Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Phạm Hữu Chí, President of the Việt Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) Lương Văn Tự, Second Deputy Head of the Trade and Investment Unit of ASEAN-Korea Centre Moon Ki-bong and representatives of about 50 SMEs from both sides.

Ambassador Chí said the RoK was now Việt Nam’s biggest investor, with about US$45 billion pumped into Việt Nam.

The RoK is also Việt Nam’s third largest trading partner while Việt Nam is the fourth largest of the RoK. Last year, bilateral trade exceeded $36 billion, he noted.

Chí said that the two sides had huge potential to develop trade and production linkages.

VICOFA President Tự, who is former chief of Việt Nam’s WTO negotiation delegation, said that the new-generation Việt Nam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which took effect late last year, opened up opportunities for businesses in the two nations, especially SMEs.

Processing and exports of farming products are among promising sectors where Việt Nam’s strengths in agriculture and the RoK’s advanced technologies could complement each other, he added.

CS International, a RoK-based cosmetics producer, sees Việt Nam as a promising market, director Cho Yoon told Vietnam News Agency.

He spoke highly of the country’s business climate and hoped to find a capable business partner at the forum. — VNS