Vietnam wants free trade deal with Japan next year

TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Vietnam hopes to reach a free trade deal with Japan next year, Vietnam's president said on Wednesday.

An economic partnership agreement between the two countries would liberalise trade between Vietnam, which joined the World Trade Organisation this year, and Japan, Vietnam's largest aid donor and a major business investor there.

"I personally think it is very desirable to reach an agreement in the next round of talks taking place next year," Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet said at a news conference during a five-day visit to Japan that started on Sunday.

Triet met Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday, when the two agreed to strengthen ties and discussed increasing Japan's official development aid to Vietnam.

Vietnam imported about $4.4 billion of goods from Japan in 2006, while Japan bought around $5.7 billion in Vietnamese goods such as seafood and crude oil last year, Japanese government data showed.

The two countries have been negotiating terms of a free trade deal since January. (Reporting by Yoko Kubota)