Many delegates to the East Asian Summit held by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Seoul , the Republic of Korea (RoK) on June 18-19, showed their interest in Vietnam ’s development.

More than 200 delegates attended a working lunch on the theme of Vietnam where Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai reported on the country’s positive development in the first months of this year, that promises a 5 percent growth rate for the whole year and a higher rate in 2010.

The delegates were especially keen on the Vietnamese government’s efforts to overcome obstacles in infrastructure and human resource, simplify administrative procedures, and create more favourable environment for investment, as well as the country’s orientation for future development.

Deputy PM Hai also attended an exchange between Vietnamese businesses and leaders of WEF member groups.

He then received the WEF Managing Director Robert Greenhill to exchange views of the cooperation between the WEF and the Vietnamese government and businesses. They discussed the implementation of the WEF leaders’ plan to organise a WEF conference in Vietnam in 2010.

During his stay in the RoK, Deputy PM Hai visited the headquarters of Samsung group, received leaders of the Kumho Asiana and Hyosung groups that are carrying out their investment projects in Vietnam .

On June 20, Deputy PM Hai and his entourage made a fact-finding tour of Jeju region to study experiences in developing industrial zones, protecting environment and promoting tourism./.