Vietnam should be more active in proposing specific areas with which the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can support the country, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said during his visit to Vietnam, the first ever trip made by a WTO chief to the Southeast Asian nation.

At his meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh on April 15, Roberto Azevedo explained that the WTO will expand its assistance to underdeveloped countries in the fields of services and e-commerce.

WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo and Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh (R). Photo: baocongthuong

This special aid will be given to small and super small enterprises in order to help them participate in the global supply chain, he added.

Hailing Vietnam’s impressive socio-economic development after the country joined the WTO nine years ago, Roberto Azevedo said the country has created a more attractive and favorable business climate, developed a network of free trade agreements and engaged in an array of regional deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

He, however, underlined the need for the WTO and Vietnam to engage in more dialogues on Vietnam’s future plans and how the organization can assist the country to fulfill such schemes in order to increase the nation’s role and position within global trade.

Vietnam can also help the organization develop rules for negotiations and areas of negotiations that may benefit the country in the future, said.

The guest noted that Vietnam’s ratification of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement last December has helped cut business costs for local enterprises and facilitated the operation of domestic small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to the WTO leader, the organization is seeking to promote negotiations on the remaining Doha issues relating to e-commerce, SMEs and investment facilitation.

He suggested Vietnam consider raising these matters at the WTO to promote its plans for growth and development.

For his part, Anh called for more support from the WTO and its member countries to help Vietnam fulfill its commitments to the organization since the country, as a developing nation, has met a range of difficulties in this work.

The minister also proposed the WTO scrutinize trade protection trends, including unhealthy ones that have caused losses for developing nations.

Source: VNA