both countries to take advantage of preferences from the ASEAN-Korea
Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA).
He stressed the important role of
AKFTA in expanding trade and economic cooperation between Vietnam and
the Republic of Korea (RoK) at a workshop on improvement of the
effective use of the agreement for goods from ASEAN countries and
Vietnam in Hanoi on October 4.
Bilateral trade and economic cooperation have grown rapidly and become a fine example for the world, the diplomat said.
Trade
between Vietnam and the RoK reached 10 billion USD in 2009, an
increase of 20 times against 1992 – when the two countries established
diplomatic ties – and is expected to reach 20 billion USD by 2015.
Deputy
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said that
implementation of AKFTA had contributed to increased Vietnam
exports.
In 2009, Vietnam earned 1.66 billion USD from export
of goods given preferences from the regional agreement, accounting for
80 percent of the country’s total exports to the RoK.
In the
first six months of this years, thanks to certificates of preferential
origin, businesses shipped goods worth 842 million USD, accounting for
almost 65 percent of Vietnam ’s exports to the RoK.
Deputy
Minister Bien said the workshop offered an opportunity for experts and
policy makers to present information about preferences and the
agreement’s implementation to Vietnamese firms.
However,
the Ministry warned that businesses needed to actively study and inquire
into markets and preferences in order to tap the preferences in the
agreement and strengthen ASEAN links./.
