Vietnam, US believe to sign TPP agreement soon

President Truong Tan Sang and the Acting Trade Representative of the US, Ambassador Demetrios James Marantis said they believe Vietnam and the US will soon reach an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

President Truong Tan Sang and Acting Trade Representative of the US, Ambassador Demetrios James Marantis. (Photo: VNA)

At a meeting with the US acting trade representative in Hanoi on April 23, President Sang affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State leaders will create conditions for the TPP negotiations to take place smoothly and achieve desired outcomes.

He appreciated the US’s support during the TPP negotiations and urged the US delegation to take time to study the specific investment, trade and labour conditions in Vietnam in order to achieve consensus on many contents during the negotiations.

Vietnam will do its best and at the same time hopes to receive technical assistance from the US for successful negotiations, laying the prerequisite to enhance the Vietnam-US relations, Sang said.

According to the US Ambassador, there are many contents the two countries need to discuss in order to complete TPP negotiations this October.

He said the two sides need to try their best to narrow the differences in their viewpoints about the fields of goods, service and investment, adding that Vietnam and the US should also have a mechanism to agree on standards in the labour and environment and deal with any arising disputes.

He affirmed that the US is willing to provide technical assistance to help Vietnam overcome difficulties in its integration process.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh received the US Trade Representative at the government’s headquarters.

They agreed that the two sides have achieved important outcomes during the TPP negotiation process and will try their best to narrow differences in the up-coming rounds.

The US Ambassador said the TPP will create opportunities for the two countries and their partners to increase trade and export and create more jobs.

He noted the strong development in US-Vietnam trade, with the US now being the largest export market of Vietnam. Two way trade jumped from 2 billion USD in 2001 to 26 billion USD last year.

Judicial ties with Sri Lanka lifted

The Vietnamese Government always supported judicial ties with Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told visiting Sri Lankan Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem in Ha Noi yesterday, April 23.

Dung spoke highly of the talks between the guest and his Vietnamese counterpart, Ha Hung Cuong, as well as bilateral agreements reached by the two ministries.

Dung said that as a friend of Sri Lanka, Viet Nam was delighted to see the achievements it had gained in building and developing the country and wished the two nations would strive more to make the multifaceted ties more effective.

He also thanked Sri Lanka for recognising Viet Nam had a full market economy, and supporting Viet Nam to be a candidate to the United Nations' Human Rights Council.

Dung hoped for the continued support of both sides at multilateral forums, particularly in the United Nations and non-aligned movements.

He also suggested the two countries expand ties on economics, trade, investment, education-training and culture.

The guest said he hoped to receive more support from Viet Nam to realise judicial co-operation activities of the two countries. In particular, he expected Viet Nam to share experiences in legal aid, law building and enforcement, expert training as well as judicial reform.

Deputy PM hosts visit from top IMF official

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh received head of an International Monetary Fund's team reviewing macroeconomic and structural policies Alfred Schipker in Ha Noi yesterday, April 23.
Ninh expressed his thanks for the IMF's assistance to Viet Nam, particularly during the global economic downturn.

He also briefed the guest on major features of domestic macro economy and said the Vietnamese Government would continue realising targets to rein in inflation and stabilise the macro economy. In the meantime, the country would push economic reform with a focus on public investment, State-owned enterprises and credit institutions.

The host also said Viet Nam would work closely with IMF specialists on their recommendations to restructure local economy.

Schipker informed Ninh of the outcomes of his working plans with ministries, agencies and some major credit institutions in Viet Nam during his visit.

He also remarked that the Vietnamese macroeconomics was on the right track, which has been proven by the drop in inflation, reasonable growth pace and the increase in foreign exchange reserves.

He also hoped for further co-operation with the Vietnamese side.

PM leaves for 22nd ASEAN Summit

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung leading a high-ranking delegation left Hanoi on April 24 to attend the 22nd ASEAN Summit at the invitation of Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah.

The PM’s entourage includes Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Foreign Minister cum Head of SOM ASE AN Pham Quang Vinh and Vietnamese Ambassador to Brunei Nguyen Truong Giang.

Themed “Our People, Our Future Together”, the summit will focus on boosting cooperation and speeding up the building of the ASEAN Community, strengthening intra-regional connectivity, cooperation between ASEAN and its partners as well as other regional and international issues of common concerns.

In the spirit of a proactive, active and responsible member of ASEAN, the Vietnam’s delegation will continue playing its positive role as seen in the past years, joining the group’s efforts in general and ASEAN Chair Brunei in particular to contribute to the success of the event.

Labour Confederation official greets US guest

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour Dang Ngoc Tung and Acting US Trade Representative, Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, discussed labour issues of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during their meeting in Hanoi on April 22.

The officials have shared mutual concerns about TPP negotiation process which is underway. Tung affirmed that the confederation supports Vietnam’s participation in the TPP.

They gave high evaluation on the two countries’ trade and investment over the past time.

Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore have joined the TPP while the US, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada and Japan are negotiating for joining the agreement.

VNN/VNS/VNA