The Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced the FTA Index for localities in 2024.

Attending the event were: Pham Minh Chinh – Member of the Political Bureau, Prime Minister; Bui Thanh Son – Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Prime Minister; leaders of central ministries and agencies; and representatives of embassies, international organizations, and Vietnamese and international business associations.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh – Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee – presided over the meeting at the Nghe An location.

Since 2022, based on government directives, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been developing a set of indicators to evaluate the implementation results of FTAs ​​(FTA Index). This is a quantitative and systematic tool, built on surveys of businesses in all 63 provinces and cities nationwide, and is being implemented and published for the first time.

The FTA Index is a composite score of four component indices on a 10-point scale, totaling 40 points. The four component indices include: businesses' access to information about FTAs; compliance with domestic legal regulations resulting from FTA commitments; the effectiveness of programs and policies supporting businesses in leveraging FTAs; and the implementation of sustainable development commitments at the local level.

The results show that the province with the highest overall score achieved 34.90 points, while the province with the lowest score only reached 14.49 points.

The average score for the composite ranking is 26.20 points and the median is 20.40 points. Accordingly, Ninh Binh province has the highest score with 8.3 points, followed in the Top 10 by Quang Binh, Thanh Hoa, Ca Mau, Ha Giang, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Dien Bien, Long An and Bac Lieu provinces.

Provinces outside the Top 10 with scores of 6 or higher are Khanh Hoa, Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Tre, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Kien Giang, Phu Yen, Dong Nai, Binh Dinh, Lam Dong, Quang Nam, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Can Tho and An Giang.

Nghe An ranked 33rd with a total score of 24.03.

At the announcement ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presented Certificates of Merit to five provinces and cities that had achieved outstanding results in evaluating the implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Index in 2024.

Leaders from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded Certificates of Merit to 8 provinces and cities that achieved good results, 14 provinces that achieved fair results in the assessment of the implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Index in 2024; and 4 provinces and cities that achieved the best results for the component indicators.

Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that, in the context of globalization and increasingly deep international economic integration, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have become a dominant trend to promote trade exchange between countries.

Vietnam is an active participant in this process. These FTAs ​​bring many great benefits to the economy, such as boosting export growth, expanding markets, attracting foreign investment, and enhancing the production capacity and competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses. The commitments to institutional reform and transparency within the framework of the FTAs ​​also create momentum for improving the domestic business environment.

However, the implementation of FTAs ​​in Vietnam still faces many challenges. In this context, the Government has assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop a set of indicators to assess the results of implementing Free Trade Agreements (FTA Index).

The FTA Index aims to provide a transparent and objective database for the Government, central and local agencies in directing, monitoring, and managing integration efforts; supporting localities in evaluating the results of FTA implementation according to the proposed action plan. At the same time, it serves as a basis for formulating policies and development strategies appropriate to the conditions and potential of each locality.

The FTA Index aims to provide a transparent and objective database for the Government, central and local agencies in directing, monitoring, and managing integration efforts; support localities in evaluating the results of FTA implementation according to the set action program; and serve as a basis for formulating policies and development strategies suitable to the conditions and potential of each locality, thereby improving the investment environment.

Implementing this set of indicators is also one of the measures and a basis for Vietnam's development strategy to strive to achieve an 8% growth target in 2025, creating momentum, strength, and a position to become a high-income country...