The Japanese government on Tuesday passed a plan to sign a revised free trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), local media reported.

Besides the bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that they have individually signed with other countries, each ASEAN member state is a signatory to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) between themselves as well as the several FTAs that the regional trade bloc has signed with some of the major economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is leading a high-level delegation of Vietnam to attend the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo and visit Japan from October 8-10. The trip is hoped to help lift bilateral trade to 60 billion USD in 2020.

The 11th Dialogue between the Federation of Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA) and the Secretary General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi was held in HCM City in cooperation with Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) yesterday.

Thousands of Japanese goods imported into Việt Nam will enjoy a zero percent tariff, in line with the Southeast Asian country’s commitments to lower tariffs, as outlined in the Việt Nam - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) and the ASEAN - Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP) for 2016-19.

MY heartiest congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Asean! The partnership between Asean and Japan formally began in 1973 with the launch of the Asean-Japan forum on synthetic rubber.