SEOUL — The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Viet Nam will discuss methods to start the first negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on September 3-4.

This is seen as the two sides' efforts to enhance bilateral economic ties, said the RoK Trade Ministry yesterday.

Last August, both countries agreed to start FTA negotiations after completing a joint research on the feasibility of the agreement in November 2011.

According to the RoK Trade Ministry, Viet Nam is an emerging and quickly growing nation with an average economic growth of 5-8 per cent annually. Last year, Viet Nam was the 15th biggest trade partner of the RoK, with RoK's exports to Viet Nam worth US$13.55 billion, an increase of 40 per cent from 2010, and Viet Nam's exports to the RoK worth $5.08 billion, an increase of 53 per cent in the same period.

August 30, 2012

Source: VNS

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