ECONOMY. In 1986, the Vietnamese government abandoned its Marxist economic policy and implemented "doi moi" (renovation) involving economic structural reforms. These reforms included modernising and liberalising the economy and developing more export driven industries. Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and became a signatory of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in 2001 has brought major changes to Vietnam's economy and hopes to become a member of the WTO in 2006.

Vietnam