(VOVworld) – A delegation of Vietnamese finance, customs and taxation officials visited Switzerland and met with officials of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Swiss Federal Customs Administration and Federal Department of Finance from March 5 – 8. The visiting delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan, included representatives of the General Department of Customs and the General Department of Taxation.

Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan (Photo: VNA)

At a working session with WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo on Monday, the two sides discussed the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Vietnam, which ratified the pact in November 2015.

As the head of the negotiation group on the agreement, the customs general department actively sought technical assistance to prepare for the TFA implementation and engaged in bilateral and international forums on trade facilitation. Deputy Minister Tuan thanked WTO officials for helping Vietnam during negotiations and in carrying out post-negotiation work, especially sending experts to help Vietnam understand the deal.

Since 2007, Vietnam’s WTO membership has helped it gain valuable experience and make use of the organization as a negotiation and dialogue channel to better protect Vietnamese enterprises’ interests in the global business world.

At a meeting, the same day, with Robert Lussi, Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, the two sides reviewed cooperation between the two customs agencies, noting that they signed a cooperation agreement in 2012. Lussi said Vietnam is an important trade partner of Switzerland, which is committed to building a bilateral cooperation program. Meeting with State Secretary in the Swiss Federal Department of Finance Jacques de Watteville, Tuan hailed Vietnam’s cooperation, including technical assistance to Vietnam to promote public financial management and public debt management, fine-tune institutional framework and tax policies, streamline tax procedures, and help with financial solutions for disaster risks and insurance. The officials also shared experience in tax management and the realization of the Vietnam-Switzerland agreement on avoidance of double taxation, which took effect in 1997.