Story: Viet Nam launches online portal for bigger trade opportunities (en)

Developed with the technical assistance of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the newly launched Info Viet-Trade Portal of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) is an online step-by-step guide for export and import procedures in Viet Nam that meets the country's trade facilitation targets.

To make cross-border procedures more transparent and efficient for traders and policymakers alike, Viet Nam is currently implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The Info Viet-Trade Portal is part of this process, complying with Article 1.2 of the Agreement and offering an online solution that fully supports the government in achieving its trade facilitation objectives through transparency, easy access to information and procedural simplification.

Designed in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the portal serves as a one-stop shop for trade-related information, providing up-to-date information on trade procedures that need to be complied with, as well as the documents to be submitted or collected from border regulatory agencies in Viet Nam. It is available in English and Vietnamese.

The official launch of the portal took place in Hanoi, at a ceremony attended by government officials, the private sector and foreign representatives. This event was organized by VIETRADE and the International Trade Centre as part of the ITC Trade Facilitation Programme, with funding from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

Addressing the audience, Dr. Mohammad Saeed, Senior Trade Facilitation Officer at ITC, said: 'The Info Viet-Trade Portal is a powerful tool that will enormously benefit the business community and trade stakeholders in Viet Nam. Transparency is only the first step of this important journey, which will lead to simpler trade procedures and concerted trade facilitation reforms in a coordinated, inclusive and sustainable manner.'

Introducing the Portal, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Minh Thuý, Director of the Information Technology Application Center of VIETRADE, said: 'VIETRADE's mission is to support the Vietnamese business community to conduct successful and sustainable trade. For this reason, VIETRADE has collaborated with ITC to develop the Info Viet-Trade Portal for a number of export and import products in Viet Nam. The main purpose of this portal is to support companies, especially our start-ups, in having correct information on export and import procedures to save the time and cost of doing business in the country.'

ITC's role in developing the Info Viet-Trade Portal

ITC provided technical assistance to VIETRADE to develop, populate and ensure the accuracy of the information uploaded in the portal. To guarantee sustainability, ITC has built the institutional capacity of VIETRADE so that it can operate and update Info Viet-Trade autonomously, for the benefit of the business community in the country. With ITC's technical support, VIETRADE has mapped export and import procedures for 39 product groups, capturing the largest share of Viet Nam's international trade activity.

With a core mission to boost the trade facilitation climate in Viet Nam and enhance the transparency of trade-related rules and procedures, the portal not only reduces the time and costs for traders searching for import/export information, but also promotes public-private dialogue between border agencies and the business community, as well as fostering border agency collaboration through simplified procedures.

Contact 

For more information, contact Eleonora Salluzzi at esalluzzi [at] intracen.org (esalluzzi[at]intracen[dot]org)