In Vietnam, the Prime Minister signed a decision on March 24, 2020, promulgating some articles of the competition law. (Photo: tapchicongthuong.vn)

From March 22-25, the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade attended the 26th AEGC meeting in order to summarize the results achieved, as well as discuss AEGC’s upcoming plans and work, thus contributing to the building of the ASEAN Economic Community for sustainable development.

At the meeting, Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority, and Chairman of AEGC 2020, confirmed that Vietnamese competition authority had chaired and coordinated with the ASEAN Secretariat and competition agencies of ASEAN countries in effectively implementing regional competition cooperation activities.

He noted some outstanding achievements and results that AEGC achieved in 2020, including the joint statement of ASEAN countries’ competition agencies to respond to COVID-19; completion of the contents of competition and consumer protection in preparation for the upcoming ASEAN-Australia/New Zealand Free Trade Agreements (AANZFTA) upgrade negotiation framework; and organization of online meetings to discuss and implement work on ASEAN regional competition.

During the meeting, representatives from the ASEAN countries provided updates on the implementation of competition laws and policies, the results of ASEAN competition cooperation activities implemented in 2021, and discussed the plans and activities to be carried out, and implementation of the contents of the framework of cooperation between ASEAN and development partners, including German International Cooperation Organization (GIZ); the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC); the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), New Zealand Competition Commission (NZCC); the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and the US Competition Authority.

Vietnam will host the 9th ASEAN Competition Conference (ACC) scheduled for December.

During the meeting, the representative of the Vietnamese competition authority transferred the Chairmanship of AEGC 2021 to Mr. Kodrat Wibowo, Chairman of the Indonesian Competition Commission (ICC)./.

Compiled by BTA