Schwab said this at a seminar on negotiating and signing free trade agreements, which wa jointly held in Hanoi by the Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) External Relations Committee and the Support for Trade Acceleration Project (STAR) project under United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam on April 19.

FTA will help Vietnam shift the import-export structure as applied to the global supply chain, increase FDI, improve the quality of goods and services, and create more jobs, said Schwab.

She pointed to the fact that Vietnam has enjoyed low tariffs on its exports to other countries after it joined the World trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007.

Vice Head of the NA External Relations Committee Ngo Duc Manh and the US Ambassador to Vietnam Davis B. Shear emphasized that globalization and international economic integration are objective trends which involve more and more nations and cover all fields.

In this process, they said, nations have shown their great interest in trade, considering it a driving force behind their development, as well as promoting mutual understanding among peoples.

Manh reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of embracing on the international economic integration on the basis of national independence, self-reliance, equality and mutual benefit.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan proposed Vietnam take the opportunities to compete negotiation and signing of FTA.

The success of FTA negotiation is also dependent on the direction of the Government and cooperation between ministries and agencies, he said.

According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh, Vietnam has signed eight FTAs with its partners. He proposed that Vietnam integrate FTA negotiations into its 2011-2020 socio-economic development strategy and restructuring of the economy./.