From 25 to 28 November 2025, delegations from the EFTA States and Viet Nam met in Da Nang to continue negotiations towards a free trade agreement. 

Sveinung Røren, Director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway, acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Le Trieu Dung, Chief Negotiator and Director-General at the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, headed the Vietnamese delegation. 

The parties held in-depth discussions on trade in goods, intellectual property rights, trade and sustainable development, trade in services, investment, rules of origin, trade facilitation, small and medium-sized enterprises, legal and horizontal issues, cooperation and capacity building, government procurement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade. Heads of delegation also convened on several occasions to take stock of the discussions and remaining challenges.  

Both sides concurred that the negotiations had continued to make progress in most areas, and agreed that the next round could be scheduled for the first quarter of 2026 with the aim of building further on the recently established momentum.  

Source: WTO Center and Integration

• 20th Round of Negotiations - 20 to 24 April 2026 in Hanoi, Viet Nam
• 19th Round of Negotiations - 24 to 27 February 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland
• 17th Round of Negotiations - 8 to 10 September 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland
• 16th Round of Negotiations - 29 May to 1 June 2018 in Oslo, Norway