Viet Nam, Israel sign free trade agreement

The signing ceremony was witnessed by visiting Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The agreement is the first between a Southeast Asian country and Israel. 

This is the 16th FTA between Viet Nam and global partners and the first between Viet Nam and a West Asian partner.

The trade pact was signed on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries' diplomatic relations.

The agreement consists of 15 chapters and several appendices about trade in goods, services - investment, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), customs, trade remedies, government procurement, and legal – institutional framework.

With the agreed commitments, the two sides expect that two-way trade would reach US$ 3 billion and more soon. 

The agreement will ultimately remove duties on at least 86 percent of Vietnamese products and 93 percent of Israeli products, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In addition, the signing and implementation of VIFTA will create a favorable premise for Viet Nam to promote the export of its advantageous products not only to Israel but also to other markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Europe.

Meanwhile, besides Viet Nam's market of over 100 million people, Israeli goods and technology will have opportunities to access markets in ASEAN countries, Asia-Pacific, and major economies which Viet Nam has signed FTAs with.

VIFTA is expected to bring many opportunities for Israeli businesses when investing in Viet Nam. Socially, such investment will help create more jobs in areas in that Israeli investors have interests and invest./.