Laos, Korea to boost cooperation in economic development
Laos, Korea to boost cooperation in economic development
The Lao PDR and the Republic of Korea will further enhance their cooperation in economic development after the value of trade between the two countries increased more than 20 times over the last decade.
Trade value climbed to almost US$200 million in 2015 while the value of Korea's investments in Laos reached US$1.03 billion as of 2015, making Korea the fifth largest foreign investor in Laos.
Some 100 Korean businesses are currently operating in Laos, the Asean-Korea Centre's Secretary General Kim Young-sun told Vientiane Times during the 7th Asean Connectivity Symposium held here last week.
Mr Kim said Laos has great potential due to its abundant natural resources, political stability, low crime rate, few natural disasters, and a competitively priced labour force.
Laos is also strategically located in the heart of the region, with great potential as a land linked country, he added.
Mr Kim said the Asean-Korea Centre attaches great importance to making the relationship between the two countries more mutually beneficial.
In a bid to address the trade imbalance, he said the centre is introducing more Lao products to the Korean market at the annual Asean Trade Fair.
The centre is also organising workshops and capacity-building programmes to support Micro, Small, Medium-d Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in Laos to enhance their competitiveness and gain greater access to the Korean market.
The relationship between Asean and Korea has made remarkable progress, particularly in the fields of trade and investment.
At the Asean-ROK Summit held in Vientiane last month, Secretary General Kim emphasised that leaders from the two regions noted the strong performance of trade and investment relations in 2015.
Total bilateral merchandise trade reached US$122.9 billion and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows from Korea to Asean were recorded at US$5.7 billion, making Korea Asean's fifth largest trading partner and Asean's fifth largest source of FDI, according to a report from the centre.
With the growing importance of MSME cooperation, the Asean-ROK Business Council was launched in December 2014. The Council provides a valuable platform for the private sector and MSMEs in the two regions to share best practices and promote cooperation.
These endeavours will contribute to achieving the aim of a two-way trade target of US$200 billion by 2020 as agreed by leaders at the Asean-ROK Commemorative Summit in 2014.
Aiming to boost bilateral trade and investment, Asean and Korea signed the Asean-Korea Free Agreement in 2009. However, utilisation of the trade agreement remains relatively low, showing only 38 percent in 2015, according to the centre.
