The Government of Vietnam will create more favourable conditions for foreign enterprises, including those from the Republic of Korea (RoK), to engage in long-term and successful business activities in the country.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivered this commitment at the High-level Roundtable Seminar on Vietnam-RoK Economic Cooperation, which was held in the RoK capital city of Seoul on Nov. 11.

More than 100 delegates, including government officials and representatives of research institutes, economic organisations and businesses from both nations attended the event.

Dung, who is in Seoul to attend the G-20 Summit, called on RoK companies to expand investment and business in Vietnam , especially in the fields of socio-economic infrastructure, materials production, new energy, hi-tech products, supporting industries, human resources development, health care and agro-forestry-fishery development.

The PM said the bilateral cooperation has continuously developed in many areas and the RoK has become Vietnam ’s leading trade and investment partner. Two-way trade is likely to exceed 11 billion USD this year and the RoK is also a major provider of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam , he added.

PM Dung went on to say that after almost 25 years of renewal, Vietnam has reaped a broad range of great and comprehensive achievements, adding that it is currently home to 12,000 projects, with a combined registered investment of over 190 billion USD, funded by investors from 100 countries and territories across the globe.

Vietnam is striving to become a modern industrial nation by 2020, with an annual average growth rate of between 7-8 percent, the government leader said.

The PM told the participants that Vietnam needs around 250 billion USD for development projects over the next five years, therefore it will continue to step up international economic integration and attraction of capital sources, technologies and advanced management skills from the outside, along with mobilising and making the best of its internal resources.

Deputy Minister of Knowledge Economy Park Yong Jun and representatives of research institutes, economic organisations and businesses of the RoK all highly valued the socio-economic achievements Vietnam has recorded in recent years.

They said that Vietnam has successfully escaped the status of a low income nation and its position has improved remarkably in the international arena. Bilateral cooperative relations have ceaselessly grown, particularly in trade, investment, labour, culture, education, science and technology.

The RoK has emerged as one of Vietnam ’s major economic and commercial partners, hence the two countries need to further boost their fine cooperation to a new level, the delegates said.

The same day, PM Dung witnessed the signing of cooperation deals between Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and RoK partners, covering the construction of the Thai Binh 2 coal-fueled and Vung Tau gas-fueled power plants, a liquefied natural gas store and the Nam Con Son gas pipeline II.

The Vietnamese PM also met with executive leaders of several leading RoK groups./.