Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has called for the completion of the final negotiation round on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the European Union (EU) to be signed in Belgium in October.

 

Mr Khiem made the request at a conference of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation in Hanoi on June 28, aimed at establishing key tasks for the committee in the second half of this year.

 

Mr Khiem asked the committee to work more closely with relevant ministries and agencies to finalise the 2010-2020 Free Trade Agreement (FTA) plan to submit to the Prime Minister in July.

 

He also emphasised the need to complete the report on Vietnam’s economic situation since the country joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) three years ago, as well as the research on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and the technical assistance project in the post-WTO period.

 

Mr Khiem suggested coordinating with the Government’s negotiation delegation and boosting cooperation in APEC and ASEAN to help accomplish these tasks. It is essential to make an assessment of WTO membership’s impact on Vietnam’s development, he said.

 

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu, who is also General Secretary of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, said so far Vietnam and the EU has completed seven rounds of negotiations on the PCA. However, eh said the EU has not yet fully recognised Vietnam’s market economy status.

 

Mr Tu said at present 22 countries have already recognised Vietnam’s market economy status.

 

VOV