Workshop on Activities for the Economic Cooperation and Technical Assistance Program under the AANZFTA and RCEP Agreements
On December 12, 2024, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in coordination with the Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) Program in Vietnam organized the Workshop on Activities for the Economic Cooperation and Technical Assistance Program under the AANZFTA and RCEP Agreements.
The workshop was attended by Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi - Deputy Director General of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade; Ms. Cecilia Brennan - Economic Counselor of the Australian Embassy Vietnam; Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai - Country Coordinating Director of the Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) Program, along with distinguished guests from Ministries and Departments of the Government of Vietnam.
The RT4D Program operates on the basis of close coordination with ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat. In addition, the program will focus on supporting the least developed economies in ASEAN to ensure that the program meets the different needs of ASEAN and helps to strengthen the region's capacity.
In her opening speech at the Conference, Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Deputy Director General of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, presented an overview of the AANZFTA Agreement and the RCEP Agreement as well as the implementation status of the Agreements. Ms. Chi highly appreciated the positive impact of the AANZFTA Agreement and the RCEP Agreement on economic and trade cooperation in the region. After nearly 15 years of the AANZFTA Agreement coming into effect, the two-way trade turnover between ASEAN - Australia and ASEAN - New Zealand has recorded impressive growth. Through the AANZFTA Agreement, ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand commit to (1) Open and facilitate trade in goods, (2) Liberalize trade in services, (3) Facilitate the flow of natural persons, along with (4) Investment commitments. The agreement also contributes to strengthening the supply chain, enhancing the competitiveness of the AANZFTA region in attracting investment and business activities as well as the region's resilience to adverse developments.
Presenting on the RCEP Agreement, Ms. Chi said that the RCEP Agreement has the largest market size in the world, equivalent to about 30% of the world's population and equivalent to about 30% of global GDP, and is diverse in terms of members with the participation of the world's leading economies (China, Japan), developing countries and even less developed countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar). Ms. Chi emphasized that Vietnam always attaches importance to and is ready to promote economic and trade cooperation with Australia and New Zealand based on the foundation of good diplomatic relations and taking advantage of opportunities from FTAs of which the three countries are members.
In the next part of the Workshop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai - Country Coordinating Director of the Regional Trade for Development Program, presented on the economic and political development context of ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand and the context and development process of the Economic Cooperation Program within the framework of AANZFTA and the Economic Cooperation Program within the framework of RCEP. In 2024, the Program received many proposed projects, including projects under the following committees: Economic Cooperation Sub-committee, Committee on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Committee on Investment, Committee on Intellectual Property, Committee on Competition. In addition, many workshops were organized on the sidelines of the Programs such as the Workshop on Automatic Measuring Equipment, Business Conference on AANZFTA on the sidelines of the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting, Workshop on Rules of Origin in Malaysia, 15-Year Forum on AANZFTA in Vietnam, etc.
Also at the workshop, experts and business representatives participated in the discussion session on the Project Proposal Process under the AANZFTA Agreement (AISP) and Project Proposal under the RCEP Agreement (RISP). The discussion session provided information on criteria for proposals, priority areas for project proposals, approval processes, etc. The discussion session also proposed sample project proposals that have been and are being implemented, as well as answered questions for ministries and agencies on the technical assistance registration process.
The workshop was a great success, marking the cooperative efforts between Vietnam - Australia and New Zealand for the development and prosperity of the region and each country, opening up new cooperation opportunities for the governments, business communities and people of the three countries.
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