The Vietnamese Party and State are committed to international integration and expanding Vietnam’s relations with other countries and international organizations.
Expanded cooperation
Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries and trade ties with 230 markets in countries and territories worldwide. It has signed over 60 Agreements on Investment Encouragement and Protection, 54 Agreements on Double Taxation Avoidance, and many deals on cultural cooperation with the rest of the world. Vietnam has good relationships with world powers, including the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Vietnam’s relations with China have been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Its strategic partnerships with Russia, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, the UK, and Spain have been strengthened. The number of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad has increased to 91 including 65 embassies.
Vietnam is actively involved in international monetary organizations like the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Vietnam’s international integration process has reached a higher level since it joined regional and global trade blocs and signed multilateral economic agreements. 5 months after joining ASEAN in July 1995, Vietnam became a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, a breakthrough in its economic integration process. Vietnam was admitted to the Asia-Europe Meeting in 1996 and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum 2 years later. Vietnam has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 2007, following 11 years of negotiations.
Membership role
After joining the WTO, Vietnam conducted reforms towards transparency and free trade, engaged in negotiations related to agriculture, industry, intellectual property, and the WTO’s trade support program. ASEAN is one of Vietnam’s biggest trade and investment partners and Vietnam’s commitments to building an ASEAN Community in 2015 helped improve domestic laws, facilitate business, and attract FDI, and paved the way for Vietnam to take part in other cooperative mechanisms.
Vietnam has proposed and implemented many initiatives within the ASEM framework, hosting major bloc workshops. Vietnam has established new generation FTAs with 15 countries within the framework of 6 free trade areas: ASEAN, ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Republic of Korea, ASEAN-Australia and New Zealand, and ASEAN-India. Trade deals Vietnam has signed include the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Agreement, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP).
After 30 years of national renewal, Vietnam has achieved an impressive level of international integration, overshadowing attempts to denigrate the Party and State’s effectiveness.