. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/149
12 November 2001
(01-5747)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth Session
Doha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
VIET NAM
Statement by H.E. Mr Luong van Tu
Vice-Minister of Trade
(Speaking as an Observer)
The delegation of Vietnam would like to extend its warmest congratulations to the
Fourth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference.  It is our great pleasure to participate in this
Conference in the beautiful city of Doha.  Amid  all the recent political and economic turbulences, we
believe this Conference will be a major opportunity  for further strengthening the multilateral trading
system, thus contributing to economic growth, development and prosperity of all nations.
Aware of the potential benefits of a fair a nd equitable multilateral trading system, Vietnam
has firmly committed itself to the process of strengthening the system as well as the accession to the
WTO.  As an acceding country from the developing world, Vietnam attaches great importance to the
reaffirmation in the draft Ministerial Declaration of a strong commitment by the WTO Members to
accelerate and facilitate the accession proceedings as quickly as possible, and also to promote
acceding countries' participation in future multilateral trade negotiations.
In this context, Vietnam warmly welcomes the significant progress in the admission of the
new Members, and particularly welcomes the accession of China into this Organization.  At the same
time, Vietnam is also concerned about the fact that acceding countries are in some cases requested to
make commitments which are higher than those of WTO Members having the same level of
development.  Vietnam, therefore, supports the proposals by some Members to accord accedingdeveloping countries, in particular those with very  low income, with flexibility needed to meet their
development objectives.  In our view, WTO Member s should only request from developing countries
such commitments that are in accordance with their development priorities and implementation
capabilities.
Vietnam is in the process of accelerating its accession to the WTO.  With the support and
constructive engagement of all Members of the Working Party, we have basically concluded the first
stage of the accession process.  Following this Conference, we will soon submit our initial offers in
goods and services for substantive negotiations on market access.  We are convinced that our WTO
membership would further help to boost Vietnam's trade and to secure sustainable development of thecountry.  On this occasion, I would like to express deep appreciation for the support given by WTO
Members to our early accession to this Organization.
Vietnam follows with deep interest the on-goin g process of trade negotiations within the
WTO framework.  These negotiations, however, should be balanced, taking into full account the
interests of all Members, particularly those of the developing countries, and should not be over-
ambitious to cover those issues that are not directly rela ted to trade.  It is only in this context that the
balance between rights and obligations can be struck and prosperity of all nations can be assured.  WeWT/MIN(01)/ST/149
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support the rule-based multilateral trading system as one of the essential instruments for the
promotion of economic development, the facilitati on of developing countries' integration into the
global economy, and the alleviation of poverty worldwide.  We also recognize the critical importance
of the rule-based multilateral trading system and of transparent decision-making process in the WTO
managing globalization and reducing the scope for unilateral actions.
As a final point, Vietnam favours a strengthened cooperation and coordination between WTO
and other international institutions such as UNCTAD, UNDP, the World Bank and IMF since the
issues of global trade and development policies can no longer be dealt with in isolation.  It is our
belief that our mutual benefits can only be maximized through shared effort and responsibility.
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