Monday, January 9, 2023

On 9 January 2023 the WTO Chair in Viet Nam at Foreign Trade University (FTU), led by Prof. Thi Thu Huong Trinh, launched their new website alongside a conference on technological advancement and the modern environment for international trade and investment, which is one of the key focus areas of their project under the WCP. 

The new online platform hosts information on the training courses, events, and research initiatives coordinated and led by the WTO Chair at FTU.

The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, and the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the WTO, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai. In keeping with the Chair's role as a regional hub for technical assistance on WTO related issues, the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in Hanoi, Mr. Denny Abdi, and the Ambassador of Singapore in Viet Nam, Mr. Jaya Ratnam, were also present, alongside representatives from the Embassies of Myanmar, the Philippines, and the United States in Viet Nam as well as from the Embassy of Viet Nam in the United Kingdom. The Director of USAID in Viet Nam, Prof. Claudio Dordi also spoke at the conference. 

The WCP Academic Advisory Board was represented by Prof. Peter Van den Bossche, Director of the World Trade Institute in Bern. 

During the conference which was held after the launch, discussions with stakeholders focused on digital technology and its impact on FTAs, services trade, economic resilience post-COVID, and green energy. The event introduced industries and state agencies in Viet Nam to the strategies available through digital trade that ensure resiliency and boost their operations. 

In the past year, the Chair's research focussed on enterprise and state management agencies' implementation and application of Vietnam's WTO and FTA commitments. It assesses the wide-ranging impact of these agreements while also taking an in-depth look at each enterprise. The survey covered the implementation of the EU-Viet Nam Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement, which has been in effect since 2020, as well as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.