On the sidelines of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) organised between 12-15 June 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien had bilateral meetings with a number of partners including Israel, Costa Rica, Australia, Singapore and the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA).

For Israel, Minister Dien had a meeting with Trade Commissioner Ohad Cohen. The two sides were pleased to see that the bilateral relationship has developed very well, especially after the phone call between the Prime Ministers of the two countries in July 2021 and the visit to Israel by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Member of the Politburo in May 2022. To implement the guidelines agreed by the leaders of the two sides, the two Ministers have agreed on many cooperation programs and specific solutions. Firstly, the two sides agreed to promote the negotiation of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and Israel and that the negotiations can be concluded within this year and then submitted to relevant authorities for decision. Secondly, the two sides agreed that it is necessary to promote bilateral trade relations to be well-prepared for the entry into force of the bilateral FTA. Cooperation areas of priority include energy, industries applying science and high technology, start-ups, capacity building, etc. to promote the bilateral trade which still has a lot of untapped potential.

At the bilateral meeting between Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Manuel Tovar Rivera, the two sides discussed measures to promote bilateral trade relations. Viet Nam is ready to be a bridge for Costa Rica to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries in particular and countries in the Asia-Pacific region in general. Minister Dien highly appreciated Costa Rica's interest in the CPTPP and affirms Viet Nam’s goodwill to cooperate with Costa Rica in understanding the process and procedures for joining this Agreement. The two sides agreed to promote trade activities as soon as possible this year as the Vietnamese economy has recovered and both sides have reopened post-pandemic. Minister of Costa Rica said that soon he will organize a delegation with trade promotion agencies and leading businesses to learn about the Vietnamese market as well as find more purchase opportunities from Vietnamese businesses, given that Viet Nam increasingly asserts its role as a supplier of goods with high quality and entrusted by many partners.

At the bilateral meeting with Australian Minister of Trade and Tourism Don Farrel, Minister Dien discussed a number of cooperation mechanisms at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. The Australian side highly appreciates Viet Nam's active contributions to the discussions of the group of agricultural exporting countries in the WTO (the Cairns). As Chair of the Cairns Group, Australia is ready to work closely with Vietnam to address some of the inequalities in global trade in agricultural products such as subsidies,  non-tariff measures and technical barriers that affect trade in agricultural products. Regarding bilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote businesses to cooperate in supplying materials for manufacturing industries in the context of supply chains being broken due to the pandemic and geopolitical tensions in recent times, especially coal and some basic materials. The two sides also discussed cooperation in regional trade frameworks such as the ASEAN - Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the CPTPP. The two sides agreed on the goal of cooperation with ASEAN countries to realize the goal of ending negotiations as soon as possible in the third quarter of this year. The two Ministers also agreed to set up a hotline to be able to immediately solve arising problems and soon achieve concrete outcomes.

In the meeting with Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, Minister Dien reaffirmed the close cooperation frameworks agreed in the official visit to Singapore by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc last February. The two sides discussed and agreed on specific solutions to implement activities within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two ministries during the President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visitation to Singapore, including actions to be completed in the coming time. Regarding regional cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote ASEAN's position and role in international forums, including the WTO. On that basis, the two sides have agreed on positions on a number of issues so that they can, together with other ASEAN countries, make practical contributions to the outcomes of the MC12. Regarding the CPTPP, Viet Nam expressed its support for Singapore's initiatives on the green economy and digital economy and proposed the technical level of the two sides to continue cooperation and exchange to operationalise such initiatives.  

On the sidelines of MC12, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also had a bilateral meeting with the delegation of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament led by MP Geert Bourgeois (Rapporteur on trade relations with Viet Nam) and Ms. Margarida Marques (Vice-President of the European Parliament's Budget Committee). The two sides discussed the implementation of the Viet Nam - European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) as well as the outcomes of the visit to the EU by the Vietnamese National Assembly President. The Vietnamese side is pleased to announce that it has resolved or agreed on a solution for all the issues that INTA is concerned about and raised with the Vietnamese National Assembly President, especially for pharmaceutical-related issues. (Viet Nam's National Assembly has issued a Resolution and related agencies have implemented synchronously). The EU side highly appreciated Viet Nam's efforts and expected that the economic and trade relations between the two sides will be further promoted in the coming time. The EU MPs also promised to push for the early ratification of the EU - Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by EU Members so that the cooperation between the two sides can be more comprehensive. In addition, the two sides also discussed solutions to speed up the discussion in the WTO on this organisation’s reform initiatives, bringing balanced benefits to the multilateral trading system in general and its Members in particular.