Cargo ships at Hai Phong Port (Photo: VNA)

Viet Nam became an official member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on November 7, 2006 when the country's total import-export value was just US$ 84.7 billion with a trade deficit of US$5.1 billion.

Nearly two decades following accession to the WTO, export turnover surged sharply from over US$48 billion in 2007 to US$371 billion in 2022, up eight times.

Viet Nam is now in the top 20 economies in terms of trade, maintaining trade surplus over the last eight consecutive years, with US$28 billion in 2023.

As of October 2024, Viet Nam had already signed and enforced 17 FTAs including new generation FTAs such as the EVFTA, the CPTPP. The country is negotiating on other two FTAs.

Particularly, the two-way trade between Viet Nam and EU reached US$72.3 billion last year, making Viet Nam the largest trading partner of EU in ASEAN. Trade with major partners like the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and China also reported positive indicators.

Joining the WTO and signing FTAs have helped Viet Nam to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction. In 2008, the amount of registered FDI valued US$64 billion, a three-fold increase in comparison with 2007. In 2023, the total of FDI reached US$36.6 billion.

In addition, joining the WTO has helped Viet Nam to reform its legal system and economic regulations.

These reforms have helped increase transparency in economic management, improve the business environment and enhance Viet Nam's position on the international arena.

Viet Nam's growth competitiveness index (GCI) jumped 13 notches between 2007 and 2017, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.

The Southeast Asian country's ranking on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) performance has continuously improved, from 88th in 2016 to 55th in 2022./.