Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái (right) had talks with Republic of Korean's Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyungho who is also Minister of Economy and Finance on Thursday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái on Thursday said that economic cooperation has continued to be a bright spot in relations between Việt Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is once again proved by a large number of Korean businesses that are visiting the country, attending a business forum and signing cooperation agreements during the State visit to Việt Nam by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Speaking at the meeting with the RoK’s Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyungho who is also Minister of Economy and Finance, Khái affirmed that economic cooperation between the two countries was flourishing more than ever.

The two Deputy PMs reviewed the economic cooperation in general and the implementation of the second Việt Nam-RoK Deputy Prime Minister-level Economic Dialogue in particular. They also made recommendations to further promote the cooperation.

The RoK is currently the biggest investor of Việt Nam in terms of direct investment with accumulated investment of US$82 billion, the second biggest partner in development cooperation, tourism, and labour; and the third in terms of trade cooperation with trade revenue of $86.4 billion in 2022.

Khái suggested the two sides continue to promote economic cooperation in the direction of balance, sustainability, and mutual benefit. The two sides signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of Korea Plus in Việt Nam and Việt Nam Plus in Korea" and a joint statement on establishing an electronic origin data exchange system. Those would be very important prerequisites for the two countries to further promote bilateral trade. 

Khái said that although the bilateral trade cooperation had improved, Việt Nam still saw a large trade deficit, therefore, the two sides also needed to coordinate to implement measures to further open their markets.

He welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent by the two sides on cooperation to promote the startup ecosystem and exchange of human resources. He hoped that the RoK would increase the reception of Vietnamese workers and expand labour cooperation between the two countries.

Khái said the Vietnamese Government encouraged Korean businesses to make new investments and expand their investment, especially in priority areas such as infrastructure development, production of high-tech electronic equipment, semiconductors, Big Data, biotechnology, and smart city.

He proposed the RoK create favourable conditions and loosen technical measures on food safety and animal and plant quarantine to promote the export of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to the RoK.

Khái also called on the RoK to further expand the scale of grant aid to Việt Nam, especially in the fields of research and development, and innovation.

For his part, Choo said that Việt Nam was the country that RoK had the deepest cooperation with. The ongoing trip to Việt Nam was the first state visit to Southeast Asia by President Yoon Suk Yeol, showing that the RoK attached great importance to its relations with Việt Nam.

He also shared his points of view on Khái’s proposals and informed the Vietnamese Deputy PM of the areas that the RoK wants to cooperate with Việt Nam, including digital and green development. — VNS