The remark was made by former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan at an international seminar, entitled “Vietnam’s opportunities and challenges three years after joining the WTO”, which was held in Hanoi on January 12. 

After experiencing the integration and crisis process, Vietnamese businesses have gained a better grasp of market fluctuations and taken suitable response measures, he said. 

Mr Khoan cited Vietnam’s export growth rates of 21.3 percent and 29.5 percent in 2007 and 2008 – the first two years of WTO membership as an example. The country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) also increased remarkably during the period, hitting a record high of US$63 billion in 2008. 

In regard to the retail industry, domestic enterprises have developed actively, making the best of available advantages to offer customer services better than those provided by foreign retailers. 

However, Vietnam is surviving the strong impact of unfavourable fluctuations in the world economy. Last year, the nation saw a sharp decline in both export turnover and attracted FDI volume due to the global economic-financial crisis. 

Mr Khoan said Vietnam would suffer a bigger decrease in export earnings as well as greater difficulties and challenges, including trade and tax barriers, if it did not integrate into the world economy. 

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, Nguyen Mai, was optimistic about the attraction of FDI last year, saying that newly-registered investment only reflects investors’ commitments and the FDI trend in a country, but not the real FDI activities. 

Three-year WTO membership has also helped Vietnam identify clearly its shortcomings and weaknesses, especially those related to infrastructure, institutions and human resources, so it could work out timely and more suitable solutions in a move to integrate deeper into the world economy.