His recommendations are related to the two countries’ bilateral Free Trade Agreement and the RoK-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

The Vietnamese diplomat praised KOIMA’s role in expanding business between the two countries, working to increase trade turnover to US$20 billion by 2015, and helping to the decrease Vietnam’s trade deficit with RoK.

KOIMA members, in turn, complimented Vietnam’s investment market, the government’s policies towards foreign businesses, as well as imported goods from Vietnam.

In order to help RoK businesses connect with Vietnamese exporters, a memorandum of understanding on trade promotion was signed between a KOIMA delegation to Vietnam and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency on October, 2009.

KOIMA established a Vietnam-RoK Trade Promotion Committee in March, 2010, and intends to send another delegation to Vietnam in the near future.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, Vietnam-RoK trade has seen an average annual growth of 25-27 percent, rocketing to 42.5 percent in 2007 and 2008.

Vietnam is now RoK’s 11^th biggest importer and 31^st biggest exporter. Vietnam’s major exported products to RoK are crude oil, processed seafoods, coffee, rubber, textiles and garments, electronic parts, wood products, footwear, and steel.