A regular workshop was held in Seoul , the Republic of Korea (RoK) on May 6 for members of the Korean importers’ association (KOIMA) to help them pinpoint sources of goods from interested markets, including Vietnam.

At the event, the participants focused their attention on the Vietnamese Government’s policies towards foreign businesses as well as goods imported from the Southeast Asian country.

The Vietnamese Ambassador to RoK Tran Trong Toan praised KOIMA’s role in expanding trade between the two countries, targeting a two-way trade turnover of 20 billion USD by 2015.

In an attempt to help RoK firms access Vietnamese goods, KOIMA sent a fact finding group to Vietnam last October. The trip resulted in a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Department to enhance trade promotions and investment between KOIMA members and Vietnamese partners.

KOIMA set up a RoK-Vietnam committee on trade promotion in March and expects to send more delegations to Vietnam in the near future.

Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992, bilateral trade has seen an annual average increase of 25-27 percent.

After Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007, the two countries registered rises in bilateral trade of over 40 percent in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Vietnam ’s exports to the RoK reached 2 billion USD in 2009, up 16 percent year-on-year. The country’s main export items to the RoK are crude oil, processed seafood, coffee, rubber, garments, electronic components, furniture, footwear, steel and coal./.