Following a decision by the World Trade Organization's General Council on November 7, 2006 Vietnam is set to become the WTOs 150th member. The General Coucil approved the Southeast Asian countrys membership agreement and Vietnam will become a member 30 days after it has informed the WTO that the deal has been ratified.
The decision ends over 11 years of preparation, including eight years of negotiation. The working party of members negotiating with Viet Nam was set up on 31 January 1995 and met 14 times between July 1998 and October 2006.
“The remarkable efforts that Vietnam has put into preparing for membership should be an inspiration to us all, as several members have observed,” WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a prepared statement.
“Vietnam has shown how anchoring domestic reforms in the WTO can yield dramatic results. Vietnams economic growth topped 8% last year, foreign direct investment rose steeply to over $6 billion, and exports surged by over 20%. More must surely follow with the new laws, administrative measures, and commitments on goods and services that are in Vietnams membership package.”
Vietnamese Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said the negotiations for WTO membership closely accompanied his countrys economic reforms known as “doi moi”.
According to the latest WTO data, Vietnams merchandise exports were $26.5 billion in 2004, and its imports were $32.0 billion.
