Vietnam hopes to conclude WTO entry negotiation before September

Vietnam is expected to conclude all bilateral negotiations on its entry in the World Trade Organization (WTO) including those with the United States and China before September, said Vietnamese Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen on Tuesday.

If the United States accelerates the third negotiation round on June 13-16, it will create a great chance for the latter to join the organization in late 2005, local newspaper Pioneer quoted Tuyen as saying.

During the round, Vietnam and the United States are expected to focus their negotiations on tariff reduction, and opening up markets of services, especially in the fields of telecommunications, banking and finance.

Regarding China, the Chinese negotiation delegation will come to Vietnam on June 26, he said, noting that the two countries last October signed a joint statement to facilitate Vietnam's accession to the WTO.

To date, Vietnam has wrapped up bilateral negotiations with nine partners, namely the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Chile and Uruguay since it began bilateral and multilateral negotiations in 1998.

In addition to accelerating negotiations, the country is speeding up law making, with hope to join the world's largest trade body this year.

Source: Xinhua