Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union officially signed an FTA

On the front page of Kazpravda newspaper, there was a photo of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung meeting with President of Kazakhstan Nazabayev within the framework of the FTA signing ceremony between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union. The two sides emphasized the significance of the fact that Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, after more than two years of active negotiations, have mutually agreed on the content of the FTA and officially signed this document in Kazakhstan, considering this a breakthrough in promoting economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the five Union member countries in general, as well as with Kazakhstan in particular. He also pointed out a great potential for cooperation in many different fields, including economics, trade, investment and energy, which needs to be further promoted and enhanced.

Russia Today (RT) has an article about the signing ceremony between Vietnam and the EEU, which emphasizes the fact that Vietnam has become the first international partner to participate in the free trade area with the EEU. Assessing the benefits of the FTA between Vietnam and the EEU, RT cited statistics that this agreement will help Vietnamese companies save 5-10 billion USD/year while EEU export businesses will also benefit from 40-60 million USD in the first year after this agreement takes effect.

According to a Kazakhstan truth reporter reporting at a CIS Council meeting, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov emphasized that the agenda includes 20 signed documents, on which decisions have been agreed. Such decisions concern the interaction of CIS members in the economic, innovation, technical, humanitarian, military and other fields. He also said: Among the signed documents are joint action plans to solve urgent problems in the financial and economic sectors. At the same time, create a comprehensive roadmap to minimize the impacts of the global financial crisis and the concept of inter-regional and cross-border cooperation of CIS members until 2020. He expressed satisfaction with the plan.The outcome of the meeting, he said, will be a step towards integration within the CIS to enhance the welfare of the people.

According to Kazapravda newspaper citing Lentaru, speaking to the press, Trade Minister of the Eurasian Economic Committee Andrei Slepnev said that the FTA between Vietnam and EEU will officially take effect within 60 days after being ratified by the legislative bodies of all EEU member countries and Vietnam. In addition, Mr. Slepnev also expressed hope that relevant parties will complete the ratification of this agreement during the meeting taking place this fall. According to Mr. Slepnev's assessment, the FTA signing ceremony last weekend showed that Vietnam and the EEU are pursuing a "common trend in the world trade process". Mr. Slepnev also noted that this trade agreement will open up "many good opportunities" for businesses.EEU has access to Vietnam's market of 90 million people, penetrating the markets of other countries in ASEAN and, more broadly, the Asian region in general.

Source: Vietnam Embassy in Kazakhstan June 2, 2015.