Prime Minister supports FTA with Uruguay

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said he welcomed Uruguay’s proposal for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam during his meeting with visiting Foreign Minister of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa in Hanoi on October 21.

The PM affirmed that Vietnam always hopes to promote its friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with Uruguay, suggesting that the two countries continue to exchange delegations at all levels to enhance mutual understanding and discuss measures to strengthen bilateral relations.

 

He noted that the two governments needed to implement signed agreements and promptly establish a joint committee for economic, trade and investment cooperation in line with their framework agreement on trade and investment, which came into effect in April 2016.

 

The PM also said the two sides should work together to complete a legal framework for bilateral collaboration while encouraging their business communities to seek opportunities in each other’s market and to form direct partnerships.

 

According to him, Vietnam is an open market with many opportunities for foreign investors, and it will particularly be so once it officially joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.

 

Vietnam was also willing to serve as a gateway to ASEAN for enterprises from Uruguay, Phuc affirmed.

 

For his part, Minister Nin said Uruguay wished to deepen its trade ties with Southeast Asian countries, particularly Vietnam, which is experiencing solid economic growth and has great potential for development.

 

He expressed his hope that the two countries would soon sign a free trade agreement to boost trade and investment ties.

 

The minister asked the Vietnamese Government to further facilitate the import of goods from Uruguay, especially beef and fruit, adding that Uruguay had begun to import more goods from Vietnam.

 

He suggested that Vietnam send athletes to Uruguay for training while Uruguay could send its football team to Vietnam to boost bilateral cooperation on sports.

 

The minister also expressed his hope that PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc would visit his country in the future.

 

(Source: NDO)