At a bilateral meeting with Switzerland on February 25, the two sides discussed key outstanding issues. They acknowledged significant progress across core areas, including trade in goods, services and investment, intellectual property, sustainable development, and government procurement. To accelerate the process, both sides agreed not to introduce new issues into the negotiations and to focus on flexibly resolving remaining differences.
The EFTA side highly appreciated Viet Nam’s efforts and its market access proposals, while reaffirming the bloc’s traditional strengths in promoting private investment and technology transfer.
Technical teams from both sides are now intensifying legal reviews and finalising remaining procedures, with the aim of concluding negotiations and potentially signing the agreement at the upcoming EFTA Ministerial Conference in Iceland this June.
Once signed, the Viet Nam-EFTA free trade agreement is expected to provide a major boost to trade and investment ties, expanding cooperation with some of Europe’s most advanced economies and contributing positively to supply chains and sustainable growth.
