Overseas Vietnamese gather in Geneva

Geneva (VNA) – Hundreds of Vietnamese people living and working in Switzerland came together at a meeting in Geneva on February 25.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, Head of Vietnam’s permanent delegation to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, highlighted Vietnam’s achievements in 2016, including gross domestic product growth of 6.21 percent, receiving 10 million international tourists, and attracting more than 15 billion USD in foreign direct investment.

He also underlined sound relations between Vietnam and Switzerland with the celebration of the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in October 2016.

Bilateral relations witnessed remarkable strides over the past five years, especially in economics, he said, citing two-way trade surpassed 1.3 billion USD in 2016.

Apart from regular high-level delegation exchanges, both nations have recorded progress in culture, science-technology and training, he said.

Over the past year, Vietnamese expatriates worked with Vietnamese representative offices in Switzerland to host activities to nurture the rapport between Vietnam and Switzerland, and other countries and international organisations, including the UN.

Vietnam’s protection of sea and island sovereignty is drawing the attention of the Vietnamese communities in Switzerland and other nations, he said.

He called on overseas Vietnamese to make more contributions to the country’s development.

The Ambassador also confirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State consider Vietnamese abroad an indispensable part of the nation and a bridge to connect Vietnam with other countries.

The Vietnamese government welcomes overseas experts and intellectuals to contribute to national development, he added.-VNA