HANOI: Over 17 years of being a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnam has seen hallmark economic growth thanks to economic integration into the world, providing strong momentum for further development, with its export value rising almost eight-fold, from US$48 billion in 2007 to $371.85 billion in 2022, since its official entry into the WTO.

In its latest report, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said that since joining the WTO on 11th January, 2007, Vietnam has evolved into one of the 20 largest trading economies. The disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at about $23.18 billion in 2023. While many major economies recorded contraction last year, Vietnam was a bright spot with a GDP growth rate of 5.05 percent.

Vietnam’s international trade rocketed 6.6-fold since entering the WTO, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The country has established itself as a manufacturing base of many multinationals, including hi-tech companies, and is gradually moving up on regional
and global production chains.

In 2023, the Vietnamese economy was valued at $430 billion while per capita income increased $160 from the previous year to $4,284, the report further shows, with the highest GDP growth recorded in 2022, at over 8 percent.

MoIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said international markets and trade relations continue to be expanded. The recent conclusion of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel and the signing of the minutes on the conditional conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the UAE have opened the door wide for Vietnamese goods to enter the Middle East, which has combined GDP of about $2 trillion.

Vietnam has signed and implemented 16 FTAs with over 60 partners, which account for nearly 90 percent of the global GDP.

Source: Emirates News Agency