VietNamNet Bridge – The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Viet Nam began the fifth round of negotiations for their free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on May 20.

During this round, both sides will have an in-depth discussion on such areas as commodities, services, investment, the country of origin, customs procedures, and cooperation.

The RoK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said that once the trade pact is signed, Viet Nam will become a major partner of trade and investment of the RoK.

He noted that the FTA with Viet Nam with higher levels of liberation in trade and investment than the one with ASEAN will strengthen the economic and trade ties between the two countries.

Viet Nam and the RoK launched FTA negotiations in November 2012, and they both aim to end negotiations late this year.

At the 2013 summit, the leaders of the two countries agreed to wrap up the negotiations by the end of this year.

Viet Nam was the RoK's ninth largest trade partner in 2013, with bilateral trade reaching $28.26 billion last year. It is also the fourth largest Korean investment recipient, collecting $1.46 billion in 2013.

Source: VGP