The talks between Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and Vice President and head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland Guy Parmelin in Geneva on January 20. (Photo: VNA) Davos (VNA) – Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh led a Vietnamese delegation to participate in many activities within the framework of the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21.
The Deputy PM was a keynote speaker at the plenary session on strategic prospects for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), attended other important sessions of the meeting and met with leaders from many countries, international organisations and global leading groups.
He also met with President of the WEF Borge Brende and attended a ceremony to announce the conclusion of the Vietnam-WEF cooperation agreement.
Binh told the WEF president that Vietnam highly appreciated the WEF’s coordination with Vietnam to implement successfully the bilateral cooperation agreement.
He emphasised that the implementation of the deal since its signing on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s attendance at the WEF Davos in 2017, has brought practical outcomes in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, education, and health care.
The agreement could be a model for the WEF to consider expanding cooperation with other ASEAN member states, he said.
Borge Brende said the WEF wants to continue cooperation with Vietnam in specific activities, as well as in early launching a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) centre in the country to promote research and application of the 4IR.
He handed over to Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh the conclusion report of the bilateral cooperation agreement with many recommendations for Vietnam on socio-economic development.
The same day, Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, President of the European Parliament (EP) David Sassoli, and President of the Swiss National Council Isabelle Moret.
The Prime Minister of Croatia, the country holding EU Presidency in the first six months of this year, and the EP President affirmed their support for the early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) to bring benefits for the two sides’ business communities and peoples.
They agreed to strengthen coordination with Vietnam to promote ASEAN-EU cooperation during 2020 when Vietnam is the Chair of ASEAN.
In the meeting with President of the Swiss National Council Isabelle Moret, Deputy PM Binh praised the Swiss parliament’s support for and contributions to the development of the Vietnam – Switzerland ties, and conveyed NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s invitation to Moret to visit Vietnam in the time ahead.
He also informed Moret of the outcomes of his talks with Vice President and Head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland Guy Parmelin as well as the agreed measures to boost the bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, Moret spoke highly of Vietnam’s potential and position in the international arena, expressing her belief that Vietnam and Switzerland need to further the cooperative relations and traditional friendship.
She shared Vietnam’s call for organizing practical activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and affirmed that the Federal Assembly of Switzerland will endorse and make positive contributions to develop the cooperative ties into a deeper and more effective fashion.
Deputy PM Binh asked the Swiss parliament to continue support for the cooperative programmes with Vietnam, as well as back the negotiations on the free trade deal between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to benefit both nations.
During his stay, Deputy PM Binh also held meetings with top executives of many leading corporations like Standard Chartered, P&G Group, Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Carlsberg, Hyosung and Spring Studios.
He took the occasion to affirm the Vietnamese Government’s consistent policy in improving business climate and competitive edge through completing the market mechanism, renewing growth model, restructuring the economy, engaging in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and promoting global integration.
For their parts, the groups appreciated Vietnam’s socio-economic development in the past time, and described Vietnam as a dynamic economy in the context of economic headwinds in the region and the world.
They pledged long-term investment in the Southeast Asian country, hoping the Government will create an equal and transparent business environment that facilitates the operation of both domestic and foreign firms.
The Davos 2020 is the most important meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) this year. It has drawn some 3,000 delegates from 117 countries worldwide, including 53 heads of states and governments along with presidents and managing directors of 1,000 partner companies and members.
With around 400 sessions during January 21-24, participants have discussed a wide range of issues under this year’s theme “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World”./.
VNA
