Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang have signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluding negotiations which first began in 2006.
The treaty was inked during last week's APEC 2011 leadership summit in Hawaii and cements 40 years of diplomatic relations between Chile and Vietnam, according to a press release from the Chilean government.
President Piñera expressed his “great happiness and satisfaction” on signing the agreement with Vietnam.
“Chile was the first country in South America to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam and therefore we have a long history of friendship and collaboration,” he explained.
The deal will create new trading opportunities which will be reflected in increased exports between the two countries as well as facilitated access for Chilean products to other markets in the Asian region.
The Chilean government highlighted fresh fruit, particularly table grapes, as among those products which will benefit from the agreement.
Chile has now signed FTAs with 60 countries worldwide.
