Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January

18 after 11 years of negotiations. It is one of the world's fastest-growing economies,

with average growth of more than 7 percent over the last decade. WTO entry will potentially

increase trade and investment and give greater access to foreign markets. According

to Reuters, Vietnam was the second most populous country still outside the WTO, behind

Russia.Vietnam has been introducing market-oriented economic reforms over 20 years.

In 2006 foreign investment reached a record $10 billion.