WTO chief highlights Vietnam’s sixfold trade growth since accession
At a Geneva event marking 20 years of membership, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged Vietnam to diversify markets and raise added value.
Vietnam’s merchandise exports and imports have each risen approximately sixfold since it joined the World Trade Organisation, while annual GDP growth has averaged around 6%, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at a November 5 event in Geneva.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade hosted the gathering to mark the country’s 20th anniversary of WTO accession, alongside its third Trade Policy Review.
Okonjo-Iweala credited membership with encouraging reform, bolstering investor confidence and deepening Vietnam’s participation in the global economy. She urged the country to broaden its export markets and supply sources, raise added value and build stronger connections between domestic companies and foreign-invested businesses.
Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Vietnam’s permanent representative to the United Nations, WTO and other international organisations in Geneva, said the country would continue institutional improvements and efforts to strengthen competitiveness. He said Vietnam would put greater emphasis on added value rather than trade volumes and contribute to the rules-based multilateral trading system.
During a dialogue, trade ministry official Ngo Chung Khanh pointed to more transparent trade policies and Vietnam’s increasingly active role in integration frameworks. International business representatives called for legal predictability, simpler administrative processes and effective implementation of policies.
