Geneva (VNA) - Ambassador and Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Mai Phan Dung on April 10 met with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to exchange views on the outcomes of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) and the organisation’s future work orientation, and to reaffirm Vietnam’s support for the multilateral trading system.
According to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Geneva, at the meeting, Ambassador Dung expressed appreciation for the Director-General’s tireless efforts, coordination role, and leadership throughout the preparation and organisation of MC14. He noted that although the outcomes of MC14 were limited, the conference still produced several positive and encouraging signals.
First, he said WTO members clearly demonstrated their support for the leadership of the WTO Director-General as well as for the multilateral trading system itself. In addition, the active, substantive, and continuous engagement of members throughout the negotiation process showed the international community’s strong interest in the future of the WTO.
Dung also highly valued the conference’s achievement of certain concrete results in areas such as support for small economies, fisheries, and several other items in the negotiation package, considering these important foundations for further work after the conference.
Reaffirming Vietnam’s consistent position, the ambassador stated that Vietnam has always been an active and responsible WTO member, fully participating in activities, discussion sessions, and side events, while regularly making statements and contributing to major negotiation dossiers.
Vietnam firmly supports the WTO’s core principles, including consensus, most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment, special and differential treatment for developing countries, and a level playing field among members, he stressed.
For Vietnam, the WTO continues to play a particularly important role in establishing stable, predictable, and fair trade rules, thereby helping protect the legitimate interests of members, especially developing countries, he added.
On this occasion, Ambassador Mai Phan Dung also informed the WTO Director-General about Vietnam’s new steps in international economic integration, including participation in several important WTO initiatives and processes. Demonstrating Vietnam’s commitment to deeper integration, he officially announced Vietnam’s decision to join the Information Technology Agreement Expansion (ITA2).
The WTO Director-General described it as a truly wonderful decision and said this commitment would help open significant opportunities for Vietnam to attract high-quality investment and promote the digital industry.
At the meeting, the diplomat also informed that Vietnam’s National Assembly had just elected the country’s top leaders, including the President, the Prime Minister, and the National Assembly Chairperson for the next term.
Regarding post-MC14 work directions, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the current priority is to maintain the “Yaoundé spirit,” continuing to complete remaining issues in the negotiation package rather than introducing new topics. According to her, unfinished work should continue to be advanced in Geneva, with the aim of achieving substantive progress in upcoming WTO General Council meetings.
The WTO Director-General expressed a positive assessment of Vietnam’s increasingly proactive and open approach, while acknowledging and welcoming Vietnam’s meaningful contributions to the WTO. She also stressed the importance of continuing efforts to extend the moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, addressing issues of “TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints”, and maintaining negotiation momentum among key members. She noted that the membership should not be influenced by pessimistic media assessments, but should focus on substantive work to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system.
The meeting took place in an open, frank, and constructive atmosphere, reflecting a shared determination to strengthen the central role of the WTO, maintain reform momentum, and enhance the effectiveness of the multilateral trading system amid ongoing global economic challenges./.
Vietnam pushes for consensus ahead of WTO ministerial conference
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