Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam made great achievements in internationaleconomic integration and connectivity in 2018, Deputy Foreign Minister BuiThanh Son affirmed in his article on the country’s economic integration andconnectivity milestones last year and orientations for the coming times.

Last year, Vietnam successfully held a lotof multilateral external events, notably the World Economic Forum on ASEANthemed “ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution”,which drew more than 1,000 delegates, including nine heads of state andGovernment leaders of regional countries and over 800 leading officials fromleading groups in the region and the world.

Considered the most successful regionalmeeting of the WEF in East Asia in 27 years, the forum put forward policyrecommendations on important issues for the development and integration ofASEAN member countries and the whole region in the fourth Industrial Revolution.It also offered a chance to promote Vietnam’s image as well as its developmentpotential to the region and the world and connect Vietnamese enterprises andothers in the world, Son wrote.

The country also experienced a breakthroughin speeding up the negotiation and signing of new-generation free tradeagreement (FTAs). On March 8, Vietnam and its partners signed the Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The agreementcomprises of 11 members whose gross domestic product (GDP) is totalled ataround 10 trillion USD, accounting for 13 percent of the globe’s GDP. TheVietnamese National Assembly ratified the CPTPP on November 12, 2018. Thecountry’s participation in the agreement showed its strong commitments torenewal and inclusive international integration, and aimed to boost externaleconomy and complete the market economic institution in Vietnam, Son wrote.

He recalled Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc’s Europe tour from October 16-21, during which the European Commissionadopted a decision to submit to the European Council towards the approval ofthe signing of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the InvestmentProtection Agreement (IPA) between Vietnam and the EU. The EVFTA is expected tohelp increase Vietnam’s GDP by 10-15 percent and its exports to the EU by 30-40percent in the next 10 years.

Another milestone was associated with the implementationof international economic commitments. According to Son, from now to 2030,Vietnam will basically complete the enforcement of its commitments within theframework of FTAs and other economic cooperation frameworks to which it is amember. The enforcement of international commitments proved effective, helpingattract more foreign investment and raise export turnover.

In 2018, Vietnam also made a breakthroughin the promulgation and implementation of polices related to internationalintegration, reflected through the Party Central Committee Secretariat’sissuance of Directive No.25-CT/TW on intensifying and increasing the role ofmultilateral external relations until 2030, and the Prime Minister’spromulgation of Directive No.26/CT-TTg on stepping up international economicintegration in a more valid and effective manner. Ministries, sectors and localitiesalso took the initiative in negotiating, participating in and taking advantagesof opportunities brought by international economic commitments.

In the 2019-2020 period, Vietnam willofficially carry out new-generation FTAs, including the CPTPP which came intoforce in the country on January 14, 2019. The country will also fulfil itscommitments in many important economic cooperation frameworks such as theASEAN-China FTA and the ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA, as well as assuming the ASEANChair position in 2020, Son noted.

To effectively implement internationaleconomic integration and connectivity, he suggested Vietnam promote its role asa responsible member of the international community, complete the law andpolicy framework in a synchronous and comprehensive manner, improve thecapacity of economic integration and connection, speed up the dissemination ofinformation about advantages and challenges brought by FTAs, and increase theefficiency of a mechanism to solve international trade disputes and trade protection.-VNA