Japan and Vietnam signed an economic partnership agreement Thursday, laying the ground for about 92 per cent of their trade in terms of value to be duty free in 10 years, the Kyodo news agency quoted officials as saying.
The agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and Vietnamese Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang in Tokyo, reported dpa.
According to the officials, it will come into effect as early as next year after the two countries complete necessary domestic ratification procedures, Kyodo reported.
"We celebrate the signing of the agreement, which will elevate bilateral economic relations to a higher plane and bring tangible mutual benefits to the people of the two countries," said a joint statement of the two ministers.
It is Japan's 10th free trade agreement after reaching similar accords with Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, Thailand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Japan and Vietnam launched negotiations for the agreement in January 2007.
Bilateral trade value totaled 12.26 billion dollars in 2007, of which exports from Japan to the fast-growing country accounted for 6.12 billion dollars, up 17.4 per cent from the previous year, according to officials quoted by Kyodo.