The 17th AEM-RoK Consultations is co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-hee of the RoK on August 29. (Photo: asean.org) Hanoi (VNA) – ASEAN economic ministers held online consultations with external partners, including the Republic of Korea (RoK), within the framework of the 52nd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM-52) and related meetings, on August 29.
The 17th AEM-RoK Consultations was co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, and Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-hee of the RoK.
The participating ministers spoke of the adverse impact of the COVDI-19 pandemic on people’s daily lives and society in the region, and reiterated their commitments to working together in order to drive back the disease and maintain macro-economic stability.
They highlighted the significance of opening the market and ensuring the regional sustainable supply chain, especially for essential goods like pharmaceutical products and food, in these efforts.
The delegates agreed that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement should be signed this year to spur regional economic development and social stability.
They lauded outcomes of the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit in Busan, the RoK, last November, and stressed leaders’ commitments to promoting trade liberalisation of goods, services and investment between the two sides by simplifying administrative procedures and connectivity with the private sector during the process.
Statistics show that trade between ASEAN and the RoK reached 156.5 billion USD last year, making up 5.6 percent of the grouping’s trade revenue with external partners.
Meanwhile, the RoK’s foreign direct investment in ASEAN hit some 2.6 billion USD, accounting for around 1.6 percent of total foreign investments in the bloc.
The RoK, therefore, became ASEAN’s fifth largest trade partner and ranked seventh among the external investors in ASEAN in the year.
During the meeting, the ministers also talked about the establishment of the ASEAN-RoK Industrial Innovation Centre and Standardisation Joint Research Centre over the past time./.
VNA
