Question: Please advise Vietnam's reaction to the collapse of the Doha Round of talks on the global trade liberalization held recently in Geneva in the context of Vietnam's bid to join the WTO?

Answer:

Following the collapse of the G6 negotiations among the US, EU, Japan, Australia, Brazil and India on July 23^rd 2006 in Geneva, negotiations within the Doha Round framework are likely to be delayed. If this occurs, it will be a regrettable mishap, representing a setback in the global trade liberalization process.

Vietnam hopes that members of the WTO, particularly the WTO major trading partners forming the group-six, will maintain cooperation in order to find out solutions to overcome the current impasse, during which the interests of developing countries shall be respected and ensured so that the Doha Round is truly a negotiation round for development. For its part, Vietnam is trying its utmost to become a WTO member and will make every effort to substantially contribute to development cooperation of this global trade system./.