EFTA and Vietnam plan to sign a free trade agreement on Sunday — TimesLIVE

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Vietnam plan to sign a free trade agreement in Hanoi on Sunday. EFTA includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, TimesLIVE reports.

Signing in Hanoi

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, who also holds the rotating presidency in Switzerland and is visiting Asia, is expected to take part in the ceremony. A spokesperson for his ministry confirmed the planned signing, as did two officials in Hanoi.

Negotiations between Vietnam and EFTA began in 2012. After a lengthy pause, they resumed last year amid global tensions over US tariffs and were concluded in July. Officials in Hanoi had previously said that the agreement was planned to be concluded in October, with the exact date to be determined based on the leaders’ schedules.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

What the agreement covers

In July, EFTA said that the arrangement would regulate rules of origin, investments, intellectual property rights, competition, trade safeguard measures and public procurement.

Detention of activists

In September, Vietnamese authorities said they had detained three activists on suspicion of terrorism, including Norwegian citizen Nguyen Duc Tuan. Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security claims that they were detained on September 18 while attempting to illegally cross the border from Cambodia into Vietnam, and describes them as members of the pro-democracy Viet Tan group, which the country’s communist government has designated a terrorist organization.

Viet Tan said the men were abducted in Cambodia. Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior stated that local authorities had not arrested the activists and had no records of their departure from the country. Human Rights Watch called for the immediate release of the three activists, who, according to the organization, disappeared in Cambodia.