Vietnam's PM, Investors and State Media Applaud WTO Admission

Posted 08 November 2006 @ 09:43 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

HANOI (AP) - Vietnam's leaders and state controlled media have hailed news that the communist country will soon join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a landmark achievement in its global integration.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said WTO membership will give the nation "equal footing with other member countries" and ring in "a new economic order more rational and conducive to the interests of the nation and business."

The premier, who hails from Vietnam's booming south, said Vietnam "should meet the challenges that we have to confront, especially when the country is still at a low development level with weaknesses in the state administration."

Vietnam's WTO accession, which must be ratified by the national assembly, reflected Vietnam's awareness of globalisation and followed years of patient bilateral and multilateral negotiations, Dung said in a lengthy statement.

The Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) daily said in an editorial that "the path to WTO was long and bumpy" involving 14 rounds of talks, but said "it is undeniable that WTO is an attractive playground with numerous benefits."

"Challenges will become disasters if we are not active enough, and opportunities will turn into mere dreams if we do not realise them," it said.

The ruling communist party's newspaper Nhan Dan (People) also stressed that "the WTO membership requires our people to... overcome challenges to sustainably and rapidly develop our country."

The mass-circulation Tuoi Tre (Youth) praised the event under a headline that sees "The whole country entering a big sea" while the popular Lao Dong (Labour) daily hailed the fact Vietnam has "entered the WTO common house".

Vietnam Television's VTV1 channel was set to celebrate Wednesday evening with a TV event titled "Night of Integration" with broadcasts from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Geneva, where the WTO is headquartered.

Some 800 delegates, including state, party, diplomatic and business representatives, were to discuss what joining the international rules based trading system will mean for the country of 84 million people.

Investors on Ho Chi Minh City's nascent stock exchange also welcomed the news from Switzerland, with the benchmark VNIndex closing at 525.99 Wednesday, up 5.9 points or 1.13 percent from the previous day.

"It's probably because investors are happy that Vietnam will become a WTO member," said a stock exchange spokesman. "It's a good sign."

Vietnam, though still a developing country, has seen the fastest growth of any major economy in East Asia after China, booking over 8 percent gross domestic product growth last year.

Agriculture employs the bulk of Vietnam's people but last year contributed only 8 billion dollars, or 15 percent, to the country's gross domestic product of 53 billion dollars, according to government figures.

The country will on November 18-19 host an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit with US President George W Bush, China's Hu Jintao and Russia's Vladimir Putin among the guests.

Vietnam first applied to join the WTO in 1995. It will officially become its 150th member 30 days after it notifies the global trade body that its national assembly has ratified the Geneva decision.