On the basis of the good diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), the VSS and COMWEL have been continuously building and promoting effective cooperation to ensure social security for citizens. Since the two sides signed the MoU on cooperation in October 2009, they have regularly exchanged delegations, shared experience and supported the implementation of social security policies in the two countries.

Since 2006, COMWEL has assisted the training of nearly 250 VSS staff members in the forms of specialized training courses, international conferences, and surveys conducted in both Vietnam and the RoK. In particular, COMWEL has developed proposals and approved funding from the Korean Government to support the Vietnam Social Insurance in carrying out a number of projects such as “the feasibility study on the implementation of labour insurance information system for the Vietnam Social Security" jointly conducted by  the Korea National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and COMWEL in 2012 and “the training programme on occupational accident insurance for Vietnamese officials in the period of 2013-2015”, focusing on the annual organisation of delegations to participate in training programmes on social security and e-government in the Republic of Korea.

The two sides have also coordinated in holding seminars to share experience and evaluate cooperation effectiveness in Vietnam and the RoK. Currently, COMWEL still develops proposals for cooperation with the Vietnam Social Security to submit to the Korean Government for consideration and approval.

With the nine-year cooperation experience, through this workshop, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to working closely and effectively implementing the signed memorandum of understanding. Kim Young-jun, Director of COMWEL’s Labour Welfare Research Institute, emphasized the desire to support and cooperate with Vietnam’s social insurance sector through its strengths in implementing occupational accident insurance and rehabilitation as well as its experience in e-insurance development, IT application, customer service in the implementation of social security policies, and human resources training.

Representing the Vietnam Social Security delegation to the workshop, Nguyen Tien Thanh, Director of the International Cooperation Department, appreciated COMWEL's cooperation and help over the past years and informed participants about outcomes of the social insurance sector’s important activities in the recent period. Other VSS delegates also expressed their wish to continue cooperation with COMWEL in such areas as personnel training, joint research to improve the implementation of occupational accident issuance policies, support for Vietnamese workers in the RoK as well as Korean labourers in Vietnam. The two sides should boost IT application to provide online public services and build a software system to evaluate customer satisfaction of customers, bringing the best interests to people who participate in social insurance, while coordinating in raisig public awareness of social security.

Within the framework of the working trip, the COMWEL delegation visited and worked with the Information Technology Center and the Customer Service Center of the Viet Nam Social Security./.