Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai onJune 22 said that economic cooperation has continued to be a bright spot in relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is once again proved by a large number of Korean businesses that are visiting the country, attending aಞ business f๊orum andsigning cooperation agreements during the State visit to Vietnam by President Yoon SukYeol.

Speaking at the meeting with the RoK’s Deputy PrimeMinister ChooKyungho who is also Minister of Economy and Finance, Khai affirmed that economic cooperation between the two countries isflourishing more than ever. The two Deputy PMs reviewed the economiccooperation in general and the implementation of the second Vietnam - RoK Deputy Prime Minister-level Economic Dialogue in particular. They also maderecommendations to further promote the cooperation. The RoK is currently the biggest investor of Vietnam in termsof direct investment with accumulated investment of 82 billion USD, thesecond biggest partner in development cooperation, tourism, and labour; and thethird in terms of trade cooperation with trade revenue of 86.4 billion USD in2022. Khai suggested the two sides continue to promoteeconomic cooperation in the direction of balance, sustainability, and mutualbenefit. The two sides signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on theestablishment of Korea Plus in Vietnam and Vietnam Plus in Korea" and ajoint statement on establishing an electronic origin data exchange system.Those are very important prerequisites for the two countries to further promotebilateral trade. 

Khai said that although the bilateral trade cooperationhas improved, Vietnam still sees a large trade deficit, therefore, the twosides also need to coordinate to implement measures to further open their markets.

He welcomed the signing of theLetter of Intent by the two sides on cooperation to promote the startupecosystem and exchange of human resources. He hoped that the RoK will increase thereception of Vietnamese workers and expand labour cooperation between the twocountries.

Khai said the Vietnamese government encourages Koreanbusinesses to make new investments and expand their investment, especially inpriority areas such as infrastructure development, production of high-techelectronic equipment, semiconductors, Big Data, biotechnology, and smart city.

He proposed the RoK create favourable conditionsand 𒁏loosen technical measures on food safety and animal and plant quarantine topromote the export of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to the RoK.

Khai also called on the RoK to further expand the scale of grantaid to Vietnam, especially in the fields of research and development, andinnovation.

For his part, Choo said thatVꦍietnam is the country that RoK has the deepest cooperation with. The ongoing trip toVietnam is the first state visit to Southeast Asia by President YoonSuk Yeol, showing that the RoK attaches great importance to its relations with Vietnam.

He also shared his pointsof view on Khai's proposals and informedthe Vietnamese Deputy PM of the areas that the RoK wants to cooperate with Vietnam, including digital and green development./.