3rd FTA negotiation round between Vietnam and Customs Union of Russia – Belarus - Kazakhstan
16/09/2013 44The 3rd FTA negotiation round between Vietnam and Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan was conducted from September 9 to 13, 2013, in Minsk, Belarus, under the co-chair of Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade and Mr. Andrei A. Slepnev, Minister in charge for Commerce in Asia – Europe Economic Committee.
Implementing the guidance of Ministers - Heads of Negotiation Delegations - on the goal to finalize agreement text by the end of 2013, Heads of Technical-level Negotiation Delegations, Mr. Dang Hoang Hai from Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Mr. Andrei V. Tochin from Asia – Europe Economic Committee together with 10 discussion groups (trade in goods, commercial protection, rule of origin, customs management and trade facilitation, TBT, SPS, service, investment and personal movement, intellectual property, other legal and legislative issues) expressed the highest effort in obtaining remarkable progresses in this round including finalization of the chapters where there are no difference between the two sides.
With cooperative and open mind in trying to get understanding and to harmonize the view on balancing benefits, Vietnam and Customs Union have reached agreement on a major part of the text such as: competition, TBT, SPS, Customs, and sustainable development. Regarding remaining contents, two sides agreed to accelerate active discussion and exchange on the text in the 3rd and the 4th negotiation rounds.
Two sides also agreed to speed up internal consultation and information exchange in different ways, to accelerate negotiation process in the interval with the aim to finalize negotiation on the text at the 4th negotiation round to be held in Hanoi from December 9 to 14, 2013.
Source: MOIT