Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to expand cooperation in key minerals, energy security, industrial technology and other promising sectors, with the RoK set to support Vietnam in building its first underground oil storage facility.

The 15th meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Cooperation and the ninth meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Committee are held in Seoul on August 26.

The agreement was reached at the 15th meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Cooperation and the ninth meeting of the Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Committee, held in Seoul on August 26.

The meetings were co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung and RoK Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung Kwan.

The two sides discussed measures to strengthen economic and trade ties and put into practice cooperation outcomes from high-level meetings between the two countries in August 2025 and April 2026.

Regarding key minerals, they agreed to speed up necessary procedures to begin construction of the Vietnam-RoK key minerals supply chain technology centre.

Vietnam will also work with relevant agencies to address difficulties that Korean businesses are facing when investing in the sector.

In energy and resources, the two countries will promote long-term cooperation in supply chains, including joint crude oil storage and emergency response mechanisms.

They also agreed to facilitate liquefied natural gas (LNG) power projects and power grid infrastructure, while continuing policy cooperation in nuclear and renewable energy.

During the meetings, Petrovietnam Oil Stockpile Company Limited (PVOS) and the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in building an oil storage facility in Vietnam.

Vietnam is working to develop its first underground oil storage facility to help respond to possible disruptions in oil supplies.

Based on its experience in building and operating oil storage facilities, KNOC will provide consulting and technical support throughout the design, construction and operation of the facility.

The two sides will also cooperate in operation, maintenance and professional training.

A Korean representative said the cooperation would help improve Vietnam's oil storage capacity while creating a basis for broader cooperation to strengthen oil supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region.

In trade, the two countries aim to raise bilateral trade to 150 billion USD by 2030. Two-way trade increased from 79.4 billion USD in 2023 to 86.7 billion USD in 2024 and 94.6 billion USD in 2025.

The figure reached 62.4 billion USD in the first half of 2026. The Korean Government forecasts that full-year trade could exceed 100 billion USD for the first time.

The two sides will also step up negotiations on sanitary and phytosanitary measures for agricultural products, aiming to complete talks on Vietnamese lychee and passion fruit, as well as Korean Unshu mandarins and kiwifruit.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in digital transformation in distribution and logistics, intellectual property protection, and the detection and handling of counterfeit goods, while promoting cooperation between the two countries' competition authorities.

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