Vietnam signed a free trade agreement with the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) on October 18, joining India as an Asian economy with a pact with the bloc while both have trade deals with the European Union at different stages.
EFTA comprises Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which are not EU members. The agreement was signed in Hanoi by senior representatives of the four EFTA states, including Swiss President Guy Parmelin, and by Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung, according to an EFTA document. Its entry into force is pending, the document said.
