SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s finance minister will leave for Myanmar and Vietnam this week to hold bilateral meetings to discuss economic and financial cooperation, his office said Monday.

Bahk Jae-wan is to embark upon his Asia tour Wednesday as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral economic and financial cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to the Finance Ministry.

His first leg of the trip is to Myanmar where he is scheduled to have ministerial talks with his counterparts on Thursday. During the meeting, they will discuss launching a joint committee for economic cooperation between, the ministry said.

Bahk will also visit Vietnam to hold finance ministerial meetings on Friday and plans to sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening bilateral ties, it added.

Before returning home, he will stop by Hong Kong to attend the Asia Financial Forum, an annual international gathering for financial and business leaders from around the world.

During his stay, Bahk will join the Policy Dialogue session on Sunday dedicated to discussing how to strengthen the global financial system, the ministry said. (Yonhap News)