'Economic Delegation' Small and Medium Enterprises Promote $56 Million Contracts at Trade Consultation Meeting

Over 100 Small and Medium Enterprises and Mid-sized Companies Conducted About 540 Consultations
Choe Sang-mok, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs, "Will Be an Opportunity to Restore Bilateral Trade Dynamism"
Increased Convenience Through Electronic Exchange System for Certificates of Origin

On the 23rd (local time), the Presidential Office announced that during the trade consultation held the previous day in conjunction with President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to Vietnam, over 100 small and medium-sized Korean companies conducted more than 540 consultations, leading to on-site efforts to secure contracts worth approximately 56 million USD.

Choi Sang-mok, Chief Economic Secretary to the President, held a briefing at the press center set up in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the 23rd (local time), stating, "During this tour, an economic delegation of 205 members?the largest since the current administration took office?visited Vietnam and signed a record 111 memorandums of understanding (MOUs)."

Chief Secretary Choi mentioned that Vietnam is Korea's third-largest trading partner and home to about 9,000 Korean companies, but trade activity has slowed due to the global economic downturn. He emphasized, "President Yoon's state visit to Vietnam at this time will serve as a good opportunity to restore the dynamism of bilateral trade and achieve the 2030 trade volume target of 150 billion USD."

He explained examples such as a transformer manufacturer that had been stagnant for five years but signed an MOU during this economic delegation visit, and a dried seafood company that previously supplied only to Korean supermarkets but has now contracted with a distributor operating over 500 stores.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, through the summit meeting between President Yoon and Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong, an electronic exchange system for certificates of origin will be launched, which is expected to enhance convenience for export-import companies. Chief Secretary Choi explained, "The electronic exchange system for certificates of origin will be launched in July, enabling the online transmission of more than 100,000 certificates of origin that were previously issued on paper annually."

Regarding the MOU signed at this summit to strengthen supply chain cooperation focused on critical minerals such as rare earths and bauxite, he stated, "The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a critical minerals supply chain center, creating a horizontal cooperation model that combines Vietnam's abundant resources with Korea's excellent processing technology." He added, "We expect that cooperation on critical minerals with Vietnam will further stabilize the supply chains of our key industries." Vietnam ranks second in the world for rare earth and bauxite reserves and third for tungsten, making it rich in critical minerals essential for advanced industries.

Regarding infrastructure cooperation, Chief Secretary Choi explained that combining Korean capital and experience with Vietnam's development needs is expected to promote projects that benefit both sides. To this end, Korea has committed to providing up to 4 billion USD in concessional aid to Vietnam by 2030.

On the first day of the state visit to Vietnam, President Yoon met with students and workers studying Korean at Hanoi National University. On the 24th, activities supporting solidarity between the future generations of both countries will continue. Going forward, Korea plans to promote exchanges with Vietnam’s future generations through initiatives such as ▲capacity building for Vietnamese youth, ▲startup education, and ▲research and development cooperation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.