At a Vietnamese bank - Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Chairman of the FinancialServices Commission (FSC) ofthe Republic of Korea (RoK) Choi Jong-ku will pay a four-day visit to Vietnam to seek ways tofoster financial cooperation with the country.
During his trip starting March 21, Choi will have meetings with Vietnamese officials,and sign a preliminary agreement on financial technology cooperation withVietnam, according to a FSC statement.
Hewill take the occasion to call for Vietnam’s support for RoK financial firms’operation in the country, and inform Vietnamese partners about efforts made by RoKPresident Moon Jae-in in promoting relations with Southeast Asian nations.
Vietnam, one of the most important trade partners of the RoK, is home to 48branches of 34 RoK financial companies.
According to a report of the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), tradebetween the two countries is expected to exceed 100 billion USD in 2020, makingVietnam the second biggest importer of the RoK.
The report attributed theincreasing two-way trade to the Free Trade Agreementbetween Vietnam and the RoK, which came into effect inDecember 2015.
The RoK’s exports accounted for 22.1 percent ofVietnam’s total imports in 2017, it noted.
The RoK is the largestforeign investor in Vietnam with total accumulated capital reaching 57.6billion USD by the end of 2017. It remains Vietnam’s second biggest tradepartner, with two-way trade hitting 61.5 billion USD last year.
The two countries have alsowitnessed fruitful cooperation in the fields of tourism, official developmentassistance (ODA) and labour. In 2017, more than 2.4 million Korean touristsvisited Vietnam.
Around 150,000 Vietnamese expats are living in the RoK and vice versa, activelycontributing to the bilateral cooperation and socio-economic development ineach country.-VNA
VNA
