(VOVworld) - The first economic forum between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) took place in Hanoi on Friday with the participation of more than 400 delegates from the two countries’ governmental agencies and businesses. The event, co-held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), aimed to further bilateral economic ties and increase cooperation opportunities given Vietnam’s active engagement in the bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) in the region. In addition to improving the business climate and competitive edge, Vietnam is paying heed to increasing the quality of investment via luring multi-national groups to major hi-tech and infrastructure projects as part of its economic restructuring effort, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai speaks at the forum. Photo: VNA

He added that Vietnam also concentrates on building policies encouraging small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to inject money into support industry and agriculture. Hai expressed his hope that the Korean business community to continually expand investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of agriculture, education, transport infrastructure, energy, environment, health care, processing and manufacturing industries. He suggested the RoK promote investment models that are suitable to the development of Vietnam, with the public-private partnership (PPP) form as an example. He said the Vietnamese Government pledged to closely work with the RoK counterpart to improve business environment and competitiveness in order to help Vietnam remain an attractive destination for foreign businesses.