Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian country to sign an FTA with Israel

Vietnam will become the first Southeast Asian country to sign an FTA with Israel. After signing, the agreement will be quickly ratified to soon bring benefits to both economies.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis (Photo: VGP).

The bilateral free trade agreement between Vietnam and Israel (VIFTA) is expected to be signed in the coming days, opening a new chapter in investment and trade between the two countries.

Representative of the Middle East and Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Vietnam and Israel are making efforts to remove trade and investment barriers to pave the way for businesses of the two countries to expand their presence in their territory." territory of each country"...

"To achieve this goal, the two countries will sign a bilateral free trade agreement on the occasion of the official visit to the Middle East of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang," a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.

In April this year, Vietnam - Israel announced the end of the bilateral FTA after 7 years of negotiations

VIFTA is a high-quality and comprehensive agreement, contributing to strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations through eliminating tariffs on goods, reducing non-tariff barriers, and promoting trade in services. and investment.

On July 23, the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel held a ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Israel (July 12, 1993 - July 12, 2023), with the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister. General Tran Luu Quang, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis, Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Yaron Mayer; ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Corps in Israel.

After 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, the friendly cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Israel has continuously developed strongly, becoming more and more deeply connected in all fields.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Ly Duc Trung emphasized that over the past three decades, the leaders of the two countries have conducted many visits, worked, and cooperated to build frameworks to facilitate the development of bilateral relations. Bilateral relations in the fields of politics, economics, trade, investment, smart agriculture, high technology...

Israel has been supporting Vietnam in training human resources in science and technology, implementing an agricultural trainee program in Israel and sending delegations of medical and technical experts to different localities in Vietnam. Share experience and knowledge in applying working methods and using advanced and modern equipment.

Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis said that Vietnam-Israel relations are growing "stronger than ever".

The two countries have close cooperation in many fields such as agriculture and health and have many diverse cooperation activities in the fields of education, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Minister Ofir Akunis hopes that more and more students will come to study in Israel; Committed to promoting joint projects on innovative research, startup ecosystems and technology transfer with Vietnam.

Mr. Ofir Akunis congratulated Vietnam on becoming the first Southeast Asian country to sign an FTA with Israel; We believe that after signing, the Agreement will be quickly ratified to soon bring benefits to both economies.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade turnover has increased from 1.2 billion USD in 2019 to 1.6 billion USD in 2020, 1.88 billion USD in 2021 and about 2.2 billion USD in 2022.

In the first 6 months of this year, Vietnam's total exports to Israel reached 347 million USD, down slightly over the same period, and imports to Israel reached 1.05 billion USD, an increase of 42.6%. It is expected that two-way trade value will increase to 3 billion USD next year or by 2025.

Law firm Dezan Shira & Associates calculates that VIFTA is expected to further expand trade and investment between the two countries. The company sees great potential for cooperation in several fields created by VIFTA, including agriculture, footwear, electronics and others.

Source: baodautu.vn