South Korea and Vietnam will hold their first round of free trade talks next
week as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties, Seoul's trade ministry said
Wednesday.
During the two-day meeting to start in Seoul on Monday,
both sides will discuss how to proceed with free trade negotiations, according
to the ministry.
South Korea already has a free trade pact on
merchandise with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
which took effect in 2010. Similar deals on services and investments also have
come into effect.
Vietnam is a member of ASEAN, but South Korea and
Vietnam have been seeking to seal their bilateral free trade pact.
Earlier this month, the two countries agreed to launch their free trade
talks.
South Korea and Vietnam finalized a joint study on the
feasibility of an FTA between the countries in October last year.
Vietnam is a fast-emerging country whose economy is growing at an annual rate of
5-8 percent on average. Vietnam was South Korea's 15th-largest trading partner
last year, according to the ministry.
South Korea's exports to Vietnam
stood at US$13.55 billion last year, up 40 percent from a year earlier, and
imports also surged 53 percent to reach $5.08 billion over the cited period, the
ministry said.