A meeting between the officials of Vietnam and Japan was held recently in Tokyo, wherein measures to put the ‘Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement’ (VJEPA) into effect was the key topic.
This was the first ever meeting, by the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the VJEPA after signing the pact in December 25, 2008, which was a step towards developing the economic, trade, cooperation and investment relations between the two countries, said Mr. Vu Huy Hoang, the Minister of Industry and Trade.
Strengthening the bilateral relations is Japan’s firm policy, said Mr. Katsuya Okada, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs. The VJEPA is its 10th free trade agreement. It has already made trade deals with the countries such as Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, Thailand, and with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well.
VJEPA is Vietnam’s first bilateral free trade agreement, after its joining with the World Trade Organization. The first of the meetings and discussions for the trade deal had started in January 2007, just after Vietnam’s entry in the WTO.
Within 10 year’s, about 94 percent of total exports and 86 percent of agricultural exports from Vietnam to Japan will enjoy tax exemption.
In the first stage of the agreement, priorities will be given to train Vietnamese nurses in Japan, build a system to appraise the qualifications and ability of medical workers, set up a business dialogue mechanism in the garments sector; and to develop its support industries.
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