Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan presents a proposal on ratifying the document of the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Photo: Van Diep/VNA

At the National Assembly’s 7th session in Hanoi on Saturday, Vice President Xuan said that on February 1, 2021, the UK officially submitted an application to join the CPTPP. On June 16 last year, the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade together with the ministers of other CPTPP countries and the UK signed the CPTPP Accession Document, making the UK the 12th signing member of the Agreement.

According to the Vice President, Vietnam and the UK already have a bilateral FTA. The UK joining the CPTPP will help strengthen Vietnam's role towards the UK in this region and in international economic cooperation. Ms. Xuan underlined the UK's recognition of Vietnam's market economy status, which she said will create an additional basis for Vietnam to continue lobbying other countries, including the US, to recognize Vietnam as a market economy.

Seen from a multilateral perspective, the UK's accession to CPTPP will further connect the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas with Europe, helping to elevate CPTPP from a regional agreement to a  global level, she said.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha said that the Committee agreed on the need to ratify the document. The ratification demonstrates Vietnam's positivity and responsibility in promoting bilateral trade and investment relations with the UK and between CPTPP and the UK in general, he said.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.