WTO, AEC membership to bring opportunities, obligations
WTO, AEC membership to bring opportunities, obligations
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has asked the Ministry of Health to impose stricter measures to manage the import and export for food and medicines because this is directly concerned with the sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures Laos has committed to.
The Lao government looks sets to benefit fromincreased trade with regional and international partners after the country secured membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2013 and shall join the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year.
However, along with the benefits of increased trade, Laos also has to live up to its commitments to gain WTO membership, which include ensuring proper sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures for all goods entering and leaving the country.
To this end, the government has focused on the improvement of various regulations, legal processes as well as working towards the removal of any barriers that may be obstacles for future trade cooperation with various international bodies.
“When it comes to the formal integration of the AEC, most people may think of more intense business competition but in reality the AEC also means business cooperation or business matching,” Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr Somchith Inthamith said during a speech at the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
The talk was organised on Wednesday in Vientiane, seeking to enable the government employees and senior health ministry officials to gain a better understanding about the benefits, challenges and opportunities as a member of the WTO and AEC.
Mr Somchtih said that Laos has a good opportunity to associate with trade partners as well as to raise its profile on the international stage.
“Business opportunities can bring you success in your business operation but at the same time they can also get you into trouble if you do not constantly improve your businesses or products,” Mr Somchith warned.
“It also means that Laos has to be ready for trade and ensure the good quality of its products,” he said, adding that Ministry of Health needs to play an important role in ensuring that all imports and exports meet the relevant sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures.
In regards to trade with other international partners, Laos is also working hard to improve its legal processes, regulations and tariff variations as part of the international agreements.
As the result, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has focused on working with various relevant ministries to promote greater understanding about the trade facilities.
Throughout the region, the Asean Economic Community shall bring together a total population of 600 million people and have an estimated Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of US$2.2 trillion and the trade value of US$2.3 billion in 2011.
Deputy Minister of Health Associate Prof. Dr Bounkong Syhavong also co-chaired the lecture on WTO and AEC affairs, joined by other officials from the Ministry of Health.
