From 24 to 27 February 2026, delegations from the EFTA States and Viet Nam met in Geneva for the 19th round of 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 Chief Negotiator Le Trieu Dung, Director-General at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam, headed the Vietnamese delegation.

In-depth discussions were held on trade in goods, trade in services, intellectual property rights, trade and sustainable development, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, trade facilitation, small and medium-sized enterprises, investment, government procurement, legal and horizontal issues and cooperation and capacity building.

Both sides acknowledged that the negotiations had advanced in several key areas, and agreed to reconvene in the second quarter of 2026 to sustain the momentum and work towards resolving the remaining issues with a view to bringing the negotiations to a conclusion.

Source: WTO Center and Integration

• 20th Round of Negotiations - 20 to 24 April 2026 in Hanoi, Viet Nam
• 18th Round of Negotiations - 25 to 28 November 2025 in Da Nang, Viet Nam
• 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