Japan, Vietnam to launch free trade talks
TOKYO - Japan and Vietnam have agreed to open talks later this year to establish a free trade agreement (FTA), media reports said.
The deal was reached Friday at a meeting of Asia-Pacific trade ministers in Ho Chin Min City, Vietnam, Japan's Jiji Press and Kyodo News reported.
Toshihiro Nikai, Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry, and his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Dinh Tuyen agreed that it was a good time to begin FTA talks, Jiji said.
Vietnam signed a bilateral trade agreement with the United States five years ago, helping fuel rapid expansion of its economy.
Japan has been increasingly pursuing free trade pacts to secure access to raw materials and markets for its exports.
Its first, with Singapore, took effect in late 2002 and Japan has since agreed deals with Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
It has ongoing negotiations with
South Korea, Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Agence France Presse - June 3, 2006.
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