Viet Nam officially becomes WTO member

Friday, 01 December 2006

07/11/2006 -- 11:05 PM Geneva (VNA) - Viet Nam was officially admitted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) during a special meeting of the WTO General Council on Nov. 7 in Geneva. Eirick Glenne, Chairman of the WTO General Council-cum-Chairman of the Working Party on the Accession of Viet Nam to the WTO, marked the start of the meeting by summarising Viet Nam's negotiation process and gave final approval of Viet Nam's commitments with the consensus of all 149 WTO members. The council then approved Protocol WT/ACC/VNM/48 on Viet Nam's WTO accession. The meeting was followed by the signing of the protocol on Viet Nam's WTO entry between the Vietnamese Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen and the Director-General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy. Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, who was also head of the Vietnamese Government's high-level delegation to the accession ceremony, witnessed the signing. Addressing the ceremony, Director General Pascal stressed that Viet Nam's accession to the WTO has helped improve the prestige of the largest trade body. It will not only benefit Viet Nam but also all WTO members, he added. Regional representatives of WTO members congratulated Viet Nam and expressed their belief that their cooperation with Viet Nam will be further developed. Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem delivered a speech in which he emphasised that Viet Nam's accession to the WTO is "an event of great significance, marking an important step for Viet Nam's participation in the global trading system on an equal footing with all other WTO members." The Deputy PM stated that Viet Nam will strictly implement its commitments and actively contribute to the common tasks of the WTO. The Deputy PM expressed his strong confidence that with serious preparation and efforts, together with the kind cooperation and keen support by other WTO members, " Viet Nam is resolved to be a responsible and reliable member, effectively contribute to the common process." Earlier, Vietnamese Deputy PM Khiem met with Pascal Lamy, Eirik Glenne and other members of the Working Party.-Enditem

 

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