Vietnam is expected to officially ink a deal on its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the United States on May 31, local media reported Monday.

Vietnamese Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen and U.S. Trade Representative-designate Susan Schwab are scheduled to sign the deal on wrapping up bilateral negotiations on the accession in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City, one day ahead the two-day APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade there, said the newspaper Pioneer.

The signing is of significance, paving the way for the U.S. Congressional approval for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Vietnam, which hopefully happens before the congress's summer season in August, the paper said.

Tuyen has recently told reporters the 13th round of multilateral negotiations about Vietnam's entry to the WTO will be held in July. He said he hoped it would be the last multilateral talks.

Vietnam on May 12 concluded the bilateral negotiations with the United States, the last out of 28 partners which required bilateral talks, paving the way for the Southeast Asian nation to join the global trading club, hopefully in late 2006, after 11 years of bilateral and multilateral negotiations.

Source: Xinhua