Member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were impressed by Vietnam’s positive changes of trade policy, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh.

In a recent interview with Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents in Geneva, Khanh, who led the Vietnamese delegation to the first review of Vietnam’s trade policies and practices in Geneva on September 17 and 19 , said all 27 speakers during the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB)’s opening session lauded the work Vietnam has done since it joined the world’s largest trade body six years ago, describing the country as a success story of WTO membership.

TPRB members recommended that Vietnam continue perfecting its legal system, accelerating administrative procedure reform, especially investment and import-export procedures, while strengthening the enforcement of intellectual property rights and speeding up the restructuring of State-owned enterprises.

Some opinions urged Vietnam to further open up its market for a number of services and timely inform the WTO of changes in its trade policies.

According to the Deputy Minister, Vietnam has spent two years to prepare for the review. It worked closely with the WTO Secretariat to complete a 183-page report on the country’s trade policies and answered more than 500 questions after the report was transferred to WTO members.

Deputy Minister Khanh stressed that this is a chance for Vietnam to show the world that it is serious about implementing its WTO commitments and is still making efforts to improve business environment despite the difficulties caused by the global financial crisis.

This is the first time Vietnam has presented its report to the WTO after its accession. The country is among countries required to conduct trade policy review every six years.-VNA