Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh at the 28th MRT meeting. (Photo: VNA) Bangkok (VNA) –Vietnam supports a rules-based multilateral trading system and the World TradeOrganization's (WTO) role in the global trade system, Deputy Minister ofIndustry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh stated at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)'s 28th Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting.
In his speech at the event, which took place in both face-to-face and virtualforms in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 21-22, the deputy minister affirmed that Vietnam is ready to coordinate with WTO membersto promote and approve key contents at the WTO’s 12 ministerial conference slatedfor June this year.
Regarding measuresin APEC to reconnect the region after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnameseofficial spoke highly of initiatives and efforts to remove barriers,contributing to the resumption of safe and seamless travel, and economicrecovery.
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Vietnam supports thepromotion of regional cooperation towards facilitating mutual recognition ofvaccine passports, Khanh said, stressing that Vietnam will continue to closelycoordinate with APEC member economies to develop and implement viableinitiatives.
As an open economythat signed and implemented 15 free trade agreements (FTAs) with more than 60partners, Vietnam has been working with APEC member economies to promoteregional economic integration in accordance with the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, including the future realisation of a Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
Thailand - the hostof APEC 2022 - has chosen the theme for 2022 as “Open. Connect. Balance”.
At the event, APEC ministers focused their discussion on measures to reconnect the region in termsof people, trade and investment towards building a prosperous Asia-Pacificregion with sustainable and inclusive growth in the future.
Another important issue of the 28th MRT meeting was the continued support forthe WTO reform and a number of issues being discussed at the WTO, including the global food crisis, reform, agricultural subsidy, trade barriers andmarket expansion.
Participants wereupdated on new developments at the organisation in recent years, as well as thepreparation for the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference this year.
The realisation of the Free Trade Area of AsiaPacific (FTAAP) was also one ofthe key issues tabled for consideration. It was the first time trade ministers of the MRTand the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) had held dialogue on this issue within the framework of the 28th MRT meeting.
The 28th MRT meeting chaired by Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, saw the participation of representatives from 21APEC member economies, and the observers - the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and thePacific Islands Forum (PIF)./.
