Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan rounded out the first day of his working visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), holding working sessions with three government ministries in Seoul on August 26.

Meeting with RoK Minister of Science, Information and Communications Technology and Future Planning Choi Mun-kee, Deputy PM Nhan informed his host that assistance from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and relevant agencies has enabled the Vietnamese Government to choose a 25ha site for the construction of a similar facility in the country, known as V-KIST.

He expressed his hope that the RoK will provide non-refundable aid to launch the project by 2014.
Vietnam expects the RoK to assign experienced scientists and experts to Vietnam to help with feasibility study and funding for V-KIST’s operations during its first stage, he said.

In his meeting with Minister of Labour and Employment Phang Ha-nam, Deputy PM Nhan said the Vietnamese Government has established a labour management office to manage Vietnamese workers and prevent them from staying after their labour contracts expire.

The guest urged the RoK’s ministry to work closely with their Vietnamese partners to implement the measures. Besides, he also suggested the RoK Government to soon resume recruitment of Vietnamese workers under the Employment Permist System (EPS).

Later in the day, the Vietnamese Deputy PM met with Minister of Security and Public Administration Yoo Jeong-bok to discuss the development of e-Government data service.

He thanked the RoK Government for its help for Vietnam to build the Government’s integrated data centre in compliance with a bilateral cooperation agreement signed under the witness of the Vietnamese PM and the RoK President in May 2009.

The Vienamese guest said he hopes the RoK side will provide Vietnam with continued assistance to ensure the project’s quality and minimise potential risks.

The same day, Nhan attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate a representative office of the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology in Seoul.

Addressing the event, he said this event reflects Vietnam ’s determination to bring the Vietnam-RoK relation in the field of science and technology to a strategic one.

He said Vienam highly values the economic, scientific and technological development of the RoK and wants to learn from the country’s experience in building an advance science and technology industry serving economic development.

Vietnam also expects the RoK to assist the country in policymaking, human resources training in science-technology, and joint research in electronic and information technology, new materials and energy, and biology as well, he added.

In the past, the Korean side helped Vietnam build the Vietnam-Korea Friendship Information Technology College in the central city of Da Nang, the Vietnam-Korea IT Cooperation Centre (ITCC) in Hanoi, an information access centre at Thai Nguyen University, and a hi-tech incubator in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.-VNA