While nearly 5,500 South Korean experts and businesspeople have entered Vietnam after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, another 5,000 are set to follow suit, according to South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan.

This is the right time for the two governments to boost cooperation, including the simplification of immigration procedures or ease of quarantine rules, but still ensuring the compliance with Covid-19 preventive measures, said Park in a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 29.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: VGP.

The ambassador said he and South Korean companies operating in Vietnam are committed to contributing to the host country’s economic development.

CEO of Samsung Vietnam Choi Joo Ho said thanks to the support from Vietnamese government, Samsung Vietnam has partly reduced the negative Covid-19 impact on exports and is now aiming to realize its business targets for this year.

Samsung is supporting Vietnam in training high-quality human resources, transferring technologies and promoting bilateral relations, Choi added.

Recently, Samsung has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on providing training for 200 Vietnamese molding technicians to support the development of Vietnam’s fundamental manufacturing industries.

Moreover, Samsung has started the construction of its largest R&D center in Southeast Asia in Hanoi, scheduled to complete by 2022, Choi added.

A representative of LG said the corporation is planning to expand its production facility in Hai Phong and build an R&D center in Vietnam.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Phuc stressed Vietnam and South Korea are strategic partners, saying the latter is currently Vietnam’s largest investor worth over US$66 billion. This indicates the trust of South Korean investors in Vietnam, while the local authorities would continue to support the operation of South Korean companies in Vietnam, stated Phuc.

The Vietnamese government is committed to improving the business environment towards a fair, transparent and predictable one for international investors in general, and those from South Korea in particular, Phuc stated.

As multinationals are looking to diversify their supply chains and shift investment capital to more countries, Vietnam expects to attract more high quality projects from South Korea, Phuc continued.

South Korean firms operating in Vietnam are the best example of the strong Vietnam – South Korea relations, Phuc concluded.