The Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment recently cooperated with the Korea International Cooperation Agency Korea (KOICA) to organise a seminar on Vietnam – South Korea international development cooperation. The meeting is more meaningful when the two countries are exchanging cooperation to celebrate the 20th anniversary of relations between Vietnam and international donors.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Dr Hoang Viet Khang, Director of Foreign Economic Relations Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, to highlight deep Vietnam – South Korea relationship. Anh Phuong reports.
Could you brief Vietnam – South Korea economic – investment relations in the past 20 years?
The strategic partnership between Vietnam and South Korea has been developed to a new level. According to statistics, South Korea is one of the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam over the past 25 years. To date, South Korea has 3,392 investment projects with a total registered capital of US$25.7 billion in Vietnam, ranking fourth among over 100 countries and territories with investment in the Southeast Asian nation. However, if South Korean’s investment via third countries, e.g. Samsung, South Korea is the second largest investor in Vietnam, just behind Japan. In addition to foreign direct investment (FDI), South Korea is also the second largest ODA donor to Vietnam with US$1.2 billion of concessional loans for the 2012-2015 period. Currently, Vietnam has been pledged with a total aid of US$71 billion and Vietnam is expected to receive additional US$5 – 6 billion in 2013. Nevertheless, not all pledged capital has been disbursed. So far, Vietnam has received US$58 billion, or 72 percent of the pledged aid value.
The two-way trade turnover increased from US$500 million in 1992 to US$20 billion in 2012. The two countries have launched FTA negotiations with the main objective of boosting quality and scale in trade relations and balancing the bilateral trade. According to the current trend, Vietnam wanted more South Korean companies to invest and do business in Vietnam, especially those operating in South Korea’s strong industries like industrial processing, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and service.
How have South Korean investors assessed Vietnam’s economy?
Not only investors from South Korea but also those from other countries have a good view on Vietnam’s economic development in recent years. This is evidenced by the attendance of many investors to this specialised conference. Many representatives from State agencies, academics, research institutes, universities embassies of Chile and Venezuela as well as international donors like JICA, USAID, World Bank and ADB were also present at the seminar.
For over the past 20 years, although the time is not very long, South Korea is also able to see that Vietnam has completed most of the Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule thanks to the wise leadership of Vietnamese leaders. In the capacity of international donor, it is high time the close cooperation relations between Vietnam and South Korea moved from aid efficiency improvement to development cooperation efficiency.
However, South Korea’s donors also noted that some donors tend to reduce aids for Vietnam while others opt for new mechanisms with fewer incentives. Therefore, this is the time for Vietnam to change its approaches and standpoints on access to aid forms. More specifically, South Korea also noted that as Vietnam is a medium-income country, Vietnamese authorities need methods and solutions to avoid middle-income trap.
South Korea has developed energy industries. So, how will Vietnam and South Korea cooperate in this field in the future?
Currently, South Korea is the fifth largest nuclear power producer in the world with a total capacity of 20,716 MW. In this strong field, the country wants to share experience in nuclear energy and provide nuclear energy solutions and nuclear power plant management to Vietnam. South Korea hopes that its nuclear energy experience and technology will help Vietnam to develop in this field. Specifically, the two countries agreed to launch a prefeasibility study in June 2013 to develop a nuclear power plant in Vietnam for peaceful purpose (OJPP). In addition, Vietnam and South Korea agreed to cooperate and support South Korean companies to participate in energy infrastructure projects like Dung Quat oil depot and thermal power plants in southern Vietnam. The two sides also hailed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote the construction of Nghi Son 2 thermal power plant – a BOT joint venture between the Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee and the Korea Electric Power Company.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
