Vietnam Able to Enter WTO This Year: WTO Official

Vietnam Able to Enter WTO This Year: WTO Official

There is a possibility that Vietnam could be admitted to the World Trade Organization before this year ends, said the new chairman of the working party negotiating Vietnam’s WTO membership, Ambassador Eirik Glenne of Norway.

"I think that Vietnam will be able to become a WTO member at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December," said Mr. Glenne who finished his four-day visit to Vietnam June 5.

"I will try my best to help translate the goal into reality," he said.

He confirmed that whether Vietnam can achieve the goal or not depends mainly on efforts of the country and involved parties. "Members of the working party have been very impressed with efforts of Vietnam in amending and adopting new laws matching WTO rules," he said.

The negotiation process on Vietnam’s WTO access has shown good signs, he said, adding that the schedule of bilateral talks between Vietnam and its trading partners to join WTO is auspicious for the whole process.

Specifically, Vietnam has recently wrapped up talks with South Korea while negotiations with Japan are on the right track and nearing an end, he said.

Multilateral negotiations are also on the way with the last round to be held in September, he said.

Mr. Glenne said Vietnam would benefit from WTO integration just as all other member countries have previously.

"In my opinion, all countries benefit from the WTO. There are no countries seeking to withdraw from the WTO, conversely, more and more countries are keen on joining the organization," he stated.

Thanh Nien Daily, Youth