At the signing ceremony. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade NguyenHong Dien and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat on July 25 signed the Vietnam- Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) in Tel Aviv in the presence of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two countries started negotiations for the agreementseven years ago and held 12 negotiation sessions. The agreement signing is even more meaningful in the context that the two countries are holding manypractical activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment oftheir diplomatic relations.
Notably, Israel is the first country in West Asia with whichVietnam has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) and Vietnam is also the firstcountry in Southeast Asia that Israel has signed an FTA with.
Israel is currently one of the leading trade, investment,and labour cooperation partners of Vietnam in West Asia. The economic structureof Vietnam and Israel is complementary to each other, and the import and exportproducts of the two countries do not compete directly but complement eachother instead.
The signing and implementation of the VIFTA will create afavorable premise for Vietnam to promote the export of its goods toIsrael, and at the same time have the opportunity to access Israeli high-techproducts, contributing to reducing production and business costs and improvingthe competitiveness of Vietnamese goods.
The agreement consists of 15 chapters and several appendicesabout trade in goods, services - investment, rules of origin, technicalbarriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), customs,trade remedies, government procurement, and legal – institutional framework.
With the agreed commitments, the two sides expect thattwo-way trade will have remarkable growth, reaching 3 billion USD and moresoon. The agreement will ultimately remove duties on at least 86% of Vietnameseproducts and 93% of Israeli products, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.
VIFTA is also expected to be a lever to help strengthen thecooperation relationship between the two countries in investment, services,digital transformation, and technology.
In addition, the signing and implementation of VIFTA willcreate a favourable premise for Vietnam to promote the export of strongproducts not only to Israel but also to other markets in the Middle East, NorthAfrica, and South Europe.
Meanwhile, besides Vietnam's market of over 100 millionpeople, Israeli goods and technology will have opportunities to access marketsin ASEAN countries, Asia-Pacific, and major economies which Vietnam has signed FTAswith.
VIFTA is expected to bring many opportunities for Israelibusinesses when investing in Vietnam. Socially, such investment will helpcreate more jobs in areas in that Israeli investors have interests andinvest./.
