EU-MUTRAP provides equipment for Viet Nam serving for FTA negotiations. —  Photo VNA

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP) yesterday provided information and technology (IT) equipment to departments and units under three ministries and the National Office of Intellectual Property.

The three ministries are of finance, industry and trade (MOIT) and of planning and investment.

The equipment package includes IT devices for the beneficiaries involved directly in negotiating trade agreements and implementing international economic integration commitments. This is among various technical assistance activities conducted by the EU-MUTRAP Project for line ministries in Viet Nam.

Moreover, in order to enhance the capability of the line ministries, EU-MUTRAP also provides policy development consultancy, integration agreement impact assessment studies to suggest appropriate implementation policies and measures, and dissemination of international integration agreements, as well as training on integration-related skills and knowledge.

As part of its trade-related assistance, EU-MUTRAP helped to develop and implement software applications in departments under the MOIT, such as the portals for policy and law on e-commerce and for supporting industry, and to upgrade the information system for management and issuance of e-certificates of origin, as well as hand over 66 imported books on international trade and investment, give support for subscription to get access to the database on worldtradelaw.net and insidetrade.com, and provide online documents on trade and investment to relevant MOIT units.

This is the first equipment and software support package under the first annual work plan of the project. The second one is expected to be delivered during the second annual work plan (between July 2014 and December 2015).

The IT equipment handover ceremony was attended by Tran Quoc Khanh, MOIT deputy minister and head of the government delegation for international economic and trade negotiations, Ambassador and head of the EU delegation to Viet Nam Franz Jessen and representatives of the recipients under MOIT and other ministries, as well as the EU-MUTRAP Project Management Unit.

Leaders and representatives of the MOIT and relevant ministries highly appreciated the significance of such equipment, which will practically and effectively support their trade and investment negotiations, research, policy making and enforcement in the coming time. — VNS