Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang says he expects a bilateral free trade agreement to be signed with South Korea.

Sang, who is in South Korea on a state visit, said at a meeting in Seoul hosted by the nation's four major business lobbies, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that a bilateral trade pact is in its early stages of negotiation. He said only technical issues remain to be addressed.

The president also said that Vietnam is collaborating on building nuclear power plants with Russia and Japan. According to Sang, construction will likely begin on two of the plants next year. He said Vietnam had also discussed cooperating with the South Korean government to build a third nuclear power plant.

On Vietnam’s economic development strategy, Sang said Vietnam aims to transform from an agrarian nation to an industrialized nation by 2020. He said Vietnam needs to attract foreign investment in addition to revising policies and augmenting infrastructure. The Vietnamese president expressed his hopes for great participation by South Korean companies, which have been actively entering in steelmaking, chemicals and petroleum markets.