EFTA and Vietnam hold 17th round of negotiations

From 8 to 10 September, delegations from the EFTA States and Vietnam met in Geneva for the 17th round of negotiations towards a free trade agreement.

Sveinung Røren, Director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway, acted as the EFTA Spokesperson, while Le Trieu Dung, Chief Negotiator and Director General at the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, headed the Vietnamese delegation.

The parties held in-depth discussions in the areas of trade in goods, intellectual property rights, trade and sustainable development, trade in services and investments, making good progress. Heads of delegation also gathered on several occasions to take stock of the progress and challenges.

Both sides concurred that progress was made in the negotiations. The next round of negotiations is foreseen to take place before the end of the year with the aim of using the newly found momentum.

The report of the round will soon be available here.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Vietnam

Bilateral trade between EFTA and Vietnam amounted to EUR 4.1 billion in 2024. Fish, electrical machinery, pharmaceutical products and mechanical machinery were the EFTA States' top exports to Vietnam, while electrical machinery, footwear and apparel, and mechanical machinery were the top imports.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Vietnam here.

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