WTO general council member countries congratulate Vietnam on its accession

(Vietnam Government Website) - At 5.18 pm on 7/11 (Hanoi time), at the headquarters of the World Trade Organisaiton (WTO) in Geneva (Switzerland), Mr Eirik Glenne – President of the WTO General Council officially declared Vietnam as the 150th member of this organisation. Shortly after that, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, President of WTO General Council Eirik Glenne and representatives of countries made speeches to congratulate this significant and meaningful event of Vietnam.

November 08, 2006 6:00 AM GMT+7

Mr Pascal Lamy, Director General WTO highlighted it as an important day for the great family of WTO, bring happiness to both Vietnam and WTO. With Vietnam’s WTO entry, it had been proved to the world that WTO is an attractive multilateral trade system.

Mr Eirik Glenne attributed this success to Vietnam’s active realization of its commitments to WTO. During its renewal process, Vietnam has been able to achieve high economic growth and maintain its political stability and social order.

The Swiss delegation said Switzerland always considers Vietnam an important partner and the latter’s accession to WTO will help to enhance the role of Asia in WTO.

The Cuban delegation praised the wisdom, talent and firmness of the Vietnamese negotiation panel in 11 years of negotiations on bilateral and multilateral aspects.

Deputy PM Pham Gia Khiem, on behalf of the Vietnamese Government, expressed thanks to Mr Pascal Lamy, WTO Director General, Mr Eirick Glenne, WTO General Council President, Mr Arif Hussain, Director of the WTO Accession Department and others for their goodwill and support given to Vietnam. The Deputy PM also thanked WTO for their trust in Vietnam’s honesty and efforts and supported it in WTO accession negotiations.

Deputy PM Pham Gia Khiem said that as an official member of the WTO, Vietnam commits to improve its investment environment, boost socio-economic development, and fully deliver on its commitments with WTO.

Kim Tung (from Geneva)

Photo: Kim Tung (from Geneva)