Quang Nam (VNA) - Vietnam expects the US to accelerate theratification of an agreement on double taxation avoidance and facilitatenegotiations for a governmental agreement on cooperation and assistance betweencustoms agencies, said a high-ranking official.

Vietnamese Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung made the suggestion during ameeting with David Malpass, Under-Secretary for International Affairs at the USDepartment of the Treasury, on the sidelines of the APEC 2017 FinanceMinisters’ Meeting (FMM) in the central province of Quang Nam on October 20.

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While briefing the US official on Vietnam’s economic situation, Dung saidVietnam has made concerted efforts to rise from a low-income economy to a middle-incomenation in the region.

Thecountry achieved a 6.41 percent economic growth rate in the first nine monthsof the year and the figure is forecast to reach 6.7 percent for the whole year,while the inflation rate is kept below at 5 percent, he said.

However,Dung noted that the Vietnamese economy has been still facing challenges like unsustainablegrowth, poor quality of public investment and budget collection failing to meetspending needs.

Regardingfuture orientations, Vietnam will improve financial legal regulations,fine-tune tax laws such as corporate tax, special consumption tax andindividual income tax while promote restructuring and ensure state budgetbalance, he said.

Enhancing public debt restructuring and management, and ensuring the synchronismof financial and insurance markets, and accounting and auditing services willbe other tasks, Dung said, adding that Vietnam will also step up the equitisationand increase supervision of state-owned enterprises.

At the meeting, Dung and Malpass discussed cooperative relations between thetwo countries, including cooperation in the fields of tax, insurance, securities,capital market, accounting and auditing.

Malpass said that the US Department of the Treasurywill further boost cooperation with Vietnamese Ministry of Finance for mutualbenefit and development.

Talking with Vietnam News Agency reporters after the meeting, Malpass said:“Relationship of the US and Southeast Asia is always one of the top prioritydiscussions. Trade imbalance between the US and Vietnam can be improved and we discussedthe trade relationship that does not damage US enterprises and workers. We alsowelcome Vietnamese enterprises in the US and we are looking forward topromoting trade in the future.”-VNA