Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 13 highlighted the positive growth tendency in the relationship between Vietnam and the US.

"The fact that Vietnam and the US officially signed a bilateral negotiation agreement for the former to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the US Congress is considering granting permanent normal trade relations or PNTR status to Vietnam , shows a positive trend in Vietnam-US ties," spokesman Le Dung told a regular press briefing in Hanoi.

PNTR status has both political and economic significance and it will bring practical benefits to each nation, he said when being asked about Vietnam's comment on the US Senate Finance Committee's move on July 12 to hold a hearing on passing PNTR with Vietnam.

Politically, granting PNTR to Vietnam is viewed as the final and important step in the process of normalising Vietnam-US relations, he said.

Economically, PNTR will pave the way for the two nations to implement the commitments they have made under the WTO rules and the bilateral agreement for Vietnam to accede to the world biggest trade organisation, the spokesman said.

Approving PNTR with Vietnam is a complicated legal process but it is a convenient time for consideration of this bill, he said, adding that the quick approval of PNTR with Vietnam is strongly supported by US entrepreneurs, the people, authorities, various members of Congress and the American Vietnamese community, he further said.

With regard to Vietnam's WTO entry process, the spokesman said that as bilateral negotiations have finished, Vietnam is actively co-operating with the Working Group for Vietnam's WTO accession and the WTO's Secretariat to finalise multilateral negotiations and the remaining procedures for gaining WTO membership.

The 13th multilateral round of talks, scheduled for July 20, will be of great significance, he said. During this round of talks, the whole content of the WTO working group's report will be reviewed and the remaining issues will be further discussed.

Vietnam will report on its legislative programme of action and update the participants on the bills it has enacted since the multilateral round of talks in March this year, as well as answer questions which might be raised by WTO members, he noted.

It is hoped that negotiation partners, while considering Vietnam's socio-economic situation and the country's efforts in its negotiation process, will create favourable conditions for Vietnam to finalise its multilateral negotiation to quickly become a WTO member, he concluded.

(VNA)