High-level discussions between Vietnamese governments agencies and business representatives from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) were held in Hanoi on September 8.

The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to mark RoK President Park Geun Hye’s on-going state visit to Vietnam.

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said the dialogue provided a good opportunity for the two sides to discuss on how to improve business environment and promote bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.

The Deputy PM said after 21 years of establishing diplomatic ties, the relations between the two countries had obtained great achievements, particularly since the bond was elevated to strategic partnership level in 2009.

The RoK is now one of Vietnam ’s largest foreign investors with a total registered investment of almost 26 billion USD, he said.

He also expressed his hope that the RoK’s business communities will continue to invest in fields such as high-technology, energy, transport infrastructure, environment, health, processing and support industries in the future.

KCCI Chairman Park Yongman affirmed that RoK businesses will further invest in Vietnam in various areas, especially information technology, ship building and the auto industry.

Speaking at the event, RoK Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick highlighted the huge potential for economic cooperation between the two countries, saying that two-way trade increased 42 times from 0.5 billion USD to 21.1 billion USD over the period between 1992-2012.-VNA