Vietnam has enjoyed many benefits of joining WTO over the past two years, such as a sharp increase in foreign investment and expanded export markets, said Nguyen Van Phuc, Head of the Government Office, during a seminar held on April 23.

The seminar was held by the Government Office, the Party Central Committee Office, the President’s Office and the National Assembly Office and aimed to provide employees in these agencies with knowledge about international integration and the WTO.

In 2008, Vietnam fetched US$62.9 billion from exports, up 29.5 percent from the previous year. In the same year, the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) reached an estimated US$11.3 billion, making up 29.8 percent of the total investment.

The Head of the European Commission’s Mission to Vietnam, Sean Doyle, remarked that Vietnam has developed a more transparent legal framework, which helps boost confidence in Vietnamese manufacturers within the international arena.

Also, while some nations have resorted to industrial protectionism to cope with the global economic recession, Vietnam has publicly protested against protectionism and taken effective and appropriate measures to defend itself commercially.

Participants in the seminar agreed that Vietnam has felt the full impact of its entry into the WTO such as fiercer competition, a rising trade deficit, and fluctuations in the domestic market following shifts in the world market, especially due to the current global financial crunch.

Mr Phuc said that a seminar on the impact of this crisis on Vietnam will be held in July this year to offer insight into new challenges and countermeasures to be taken by the government.

VietNamNet/VOV