Vietnam, South Korea to Boost Bilateral Trade
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In his speech, the host welcomed the South Korean delegation, stressing that the two countries have a continuously developing cooperative relationship and have achieved many impressive achievements in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economy, culture, sports and tourism over the past 30 years since the two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1992.

On July 16 in Hanoi, Vietnam's Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi (right) received Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea Park Sanwoo (left) and his delegation (Photo: Ministry of Construction)

In particular, the two countries' relationship upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022, which created an important foundation for strong economic, trade and investment cooperation promotion.

South Korea continues to be the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, the third largest trading partner and the third largest ODA provider to Vietnam. The business community from this country has been successfully investing and doing business in the Vietnamese market, typically Samsung, LG, Daewoo, and Lotte.

"This meeting is an opportunity for the two Ministries to evaluate the results achieved since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in March 2018. It is also to discuss the development policies and orientations of Vietnam in general and the construction industry in particular, and to agree on the contents of cooperation in the coming time," said Nguyen Thanh Nghi.

Over the past 5 years, Vietnam's Ministry of Construction and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea have implemented the Memorandum of Understanding. The two sides closely cooperated, implemented the agreements and achieved many positive results.

In particular, the two Ministries maintain delegation exchanges at all levels, enhance information exchange, experience sharing; organize international conferences and seminars. ODA projects with non-refundable aid from the Korean government for the Ministry of Construction were implemented, such as project to establish the Vietnam - Korea Center for Smart Cities and Construction Technology (VKC) or project to provide technical support to improve urban planning and management capacity through the construction of an urban planning and development information system (UPIS).

There were also the implementation of cooperation programs to dispatch experts of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam, to conduct knowledge sharing programs on social housing development. Building information modeling (BIM) and short-term training courses were also carried out.

The cooperation activities have actively supported the Vietnamese side, said the host, in the process of researching, building and perfecting the legal policy system on urban and housing development planning, supporting the improvement of the capacity of construction sector officials.

Nghi said that based on the positive cooperation results achieved in the past time and based on the potential and needs of cooperation, the Vietnam's Ministry of Construction wishes to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels between two sides to share experiences in serving the work of building and perfecting legal institutions in the field of urban and housing development, especially smart cities and social housing.

The host welcomed the South Korean delegation at the meeting (Photo: Ministry of Construction)

Another proposal is to continue to pay attention to and promote ODA projects of the Korean government for the Vietnam's Ministry of Construction in the field of smart urban development and social housing. He asked that the Korean side create conditions for Vietnamese officials to participate in short-term training courses and knowledge sharing programs to improve capacity and strengthen expert network connections.

Both sides will support and create favorable conditions for Korean enterprises to implement the Urban Growth Partnership Program (UDPP) for which the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnamese localities such as Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa, and Binh Duong.

Both sides wish to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels in the coming time (Photo: Ministry of Construction)

Also, the two sides will work together to encourage Korean enterprises with capital potential and technological strengths to participate in investing in smart urban development projects in Vietnam, to create favorable conditions for Korean enterprises to participate in investing in social housing development under the "Investing in the construction of at least 1 million social housing apartments for low-income people and industrial park workers in the period of 2021-2030" project in Vietnam.

Nghi informed that foreign delegates that the Ministry of Construction is assigned by the Government to draft the Law on Urban Development Management, develop policies and legal regulations on urban areas. He hoped that the Korean side will continue to pay attention and share experiences with Vietnam in this field so that the drafting of the Law can be more effective.

In response, Korean Minister Park Sanwoo agreed that the two countries are at the highest level of comprehensive strategic partnership. In particular, both sides have increased exchanges and cooperation in many different fields, especially in the fields of smart cities and social housing.

(Photo: Ministry of Construction)

He assessed that with its current economic potential and social development policies, Vietnam will increasingly affirm its position in the international arena. Comprehensive cooperation with South Korea will be an important driving force for Vietnam to achieve new achievements.

The Korean side looks forward to working closely with the host towards a long-term and sustainable cooperative relationship and is always ready to share experiences and support them in developing infrastructure, contributing to promoting Vietnam's economic growth.

Currently, South Korea has achieved a 90% urbanization rate thanks to the application of two methods: Developing new urban areas and renovating old urban areas. However, this process also comes with challenges. Park Sanwoo reaffirmed that they are still willing to share experience, knowledge, and technology with Vietnam, especially in the field of social housing development; continue to promote cooperation, and implement new projects in Vietnam.

Another highlight of the meeting is the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the two ministries in the field of urban development and housing.

Another highlight of the meeting is the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (Photo: Ministry of Construction).

In his remarks, Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi emphasized that the implementation of cooperation between two sides will become more practical and effective thanks to the MoU, contributing to the common achievements and comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and South Korea.

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