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15-year WTO membership: Vietnam affirms position in int'l integration

15-year WTO membership: Vietnam affirms position in international integration

Since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 15 years ago, the country has made big strides on the path of international integration, confidently joining the global playground.
15-year WTO membership: Vietnam affirms position in international integration ảnh 1Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Since Vietnam joined theWorld Trade Organisation (WTO) 15 years ago, the country has made big strides on the path of international integration, confidently joining the global playground.

With 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) whosenegotiations have been completed or underway, Vietnam has become an openeconomy with a trade to GDP ratio of up to 200 percent.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade under theMinistry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Vietnamese firms have maximisedadvantages to boost exports and penetrate into new markets.

The country’s total export-import value rose from84.7 billion USD in 2006 to 545.3 billion USD last year. In the first 10 monthsof this year, the figure was 537.31 billion USD.

Vietnam has always recorded a trade surplus, from 1.77billion USD in 2016, to 2.1 billion USD in 2017, 6.8 billion USD in 2018, 10.9billion USD in 2019 and 19 billion USD in 2020.

The structure of exports has been improvedsignificantly, with the turnover of processed industrial goods increasing from80.3 percent in 2016 to 85.1 percent in 2019 and 85.2 percent last year.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanhcited a report by the WTO last year as saying that among the top 50 merchandisetraders, Vietnam recorded the biggest increase in the world's rankings, leaping from the 39th place in 2009 to the 23rd position in 2019.

The numbers reflect that Vietnam is an open economyafter joining the WTO and seriously realising its commitments, he stressed.

Moreover, the signing and implementation of FTAs havehelped the country attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), creatingmomentum for the national economy, the official added.

Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Direrector of the MoIT’s MultilateralTrade Policy Department, said apart from reducing administrative procedures,the ministry will continue with the communication work to raise domestic firms’awareness of the FTAs.

Notably, the ministry will speed up the building ofthe FTA Portal (FTAP), he said, adding that more than 20 ministries andagencies will join a working group to operate and upgrade the portal.

Deputy Minister Khanh affirmed that Vietnam will furtherpromote trade policies comprehensively and synchronously to boost economicdevelopment in tandem with sustainable development.

Vietnam will work harder to effectively implement thepresent international commitments and FTAs, while seeking potential partners toconduct negotiations on new FTAs, thereby helping to expand trade ties in thefuture, he said./.
VNA
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