A workshop discussing measures to promote trade links between Vietnam and Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) was held by the Centre of International Integration Support and the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City (ITPC) on April 19 in the city.

Addressing the event, Deputy Director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies Pham Binh An said Japan and the RoK are the important trading partners of Vietnam, but the proportion of Vietnamese goods in the total import turnover of these markets is still modest, accounting for only 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively.

Vietnam signed many free trade agreements with the two countries, including the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Vietnam – Korea Free Trade Agreement.

According to An, Vietnam has strengths in exports with many key items such as textiles and garments, footwear, and agricultural products. For the first time, Vietnam’s import-export turnover exceed 700 billion USD in 2022, putting the country in the group of leading economies in international trade.

However, he said that Vietnam’s exports face many challenges this year due to the decrease in global consumer demand, particularly in important export markets of Vietnam. Therefore, exploring potential markets such as Japan and the RoK will be important to increasing Vietnam’s export growth.

From statistics on Vietnam’s export turnover to Japan and the RoK, as well as the market scale of the countries, it can be seen that there still remains great potential and opportunities for Vietnam to promote the export of textile and garment products, leather and footwear products, and agro-aquatic products, to these markets, said Do Quoc Hung, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets.

Choi Kyu Chul, Vice President of the Korean Chamber of Business in Vietnam (KOCHAM) stressed the need to have short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies to further promote trade ties between the two countries.

In the short term, it is necessary to prioritise ensuring the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods in the RoK market in terms of price, diversity, packaging, and marketing strategies.

In the medium and long term, Vietnam should pay attention to developing a high-quality workforce and investing in infrastructure development and supporting industries such as materials and components, he stressed.

Korean businesses hope that the Vietnamese Government will have new policies to further support the development of industries and businesses in the near future, especially supporting environmentally-friendly industries, he went on.

VNA