SEOUL– The top economic policymakers of South Korea and Vietnam met Tuesday and discussed ways to beef up cooperation for the stable supply of urea solution and other key items and bolster partnerships in the health and vaccine sectors.
The agreement came during a meeting between Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his Vietnamese counterpart Le Minh Khai in Seoul on the occasion of the Vietnamese official’s visit to Korea.
Hong expressed thanks for Vietnam’s cooperation in exporting urea solution to South Korea and proposed the two countries strengthen the supply chains of key items, according to the finance ministry.
South Korea has been struggling to cope with a shortage of urea solution, an essential fluid used in diesel vehicles to cut emissions, after China imposed exports curbs on urea to ease domestic supply bottlenecks.
Khai shared the need for Korea and Vietnam to collaborate to grapple with global supply chain disruptions, according to the ministry.
The officials also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the health and vaccine sectors as a follow-up to the summit between their leaders in September.
South Korea provided 1.39 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam in October and November.
Hong called for efforts to resume a meeting between the two nations’ vice prime ministers on economic affairs in the first half of next year to better discuss ways to boost trade and economic cooperation.
The meeting was first held in June 2019, but a subsequent meeting has been put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Next year, the two countries will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relationship.
Source: Yonhap News Agency