Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – In his recent phone talks with European Commissioner for TradePhil Hogan, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh exchanged views on anumber of issues related to the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA) and bilateral cooperation and trade in the context of the ragingCOVID-19 pandemic.
On theagreement, the EU official said the European Council on March 30 passed theEVFTA and by so doing, the EU officially completed its internal procedures forthe deal to take effect.
MinisterAnh said the dossiers for the ratification of the deal have been submitted bythe government to the state President to consider submitting it to the NationalAssembly for discussion and ratification right in its session in May. With thispace, both sides hope the EVFTA will officially take effect in July.
Theminister further added that the Vietnamese government has drafted a plan on theimplementation of the deal. After the ratification of the agreement by theNational Assembly, the draft plan will be amended and perfected so that thePrime Minister can officially sign it for circulation.
Thetwo also exchanged views on bilateral trade and cooperation within theframework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Theyagreed to exert further efforts to boost trade in the context of thecomplicated development of the COVID-19. On the cooperation within the frameworkof the WTO, the two sides agreed to closely coordinate with each other to boostideas on the reforms of the WTO, especially the improvement of the efficiencyof the mechanism on dispute settlement which is a focus of attention of all theWTO members./.
