President’s Switzerland visit hoped to foster bilateral trade ties

Hanoi (VNA) – President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Switzerland from November 25-29 is expected to open up new opportunities in the two countries’ trade relationship which still has large room to develop further.

According to the Department for European-American Markets under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Switzerland is one of Vietnam’s leading economic partners in the EU, while Vietnam is the former's fourth largest trading partner among ASEAN countries.

Regarding investment, by the end of October, Switzerland ranked 20th out of 141 countries and territories pouring capital into Vietnam with 181 projects worth 1.92 billion USD in 12 localities.

President Phuc’s official visit is a very special opportunity for the two countries to work together to find solutions to promote the early signing of a Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association which comprises of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, so as to open up new cooperation opportunities, and realise great potential in the fields of trade, investment, sustainable development, innovation and digital transformation between the two countries.

Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Ivo Sieber emphasised that Switzerland will continue supporting Vietnam in building a better business and investment environment.

According to the diplomat, Switzerland has issued a related strategy and will implement it in 2021. The strategy aims to assist Vietnam in building a market economy with effective economic frameworks, and help private sector access and participate in global supply chains.

Within the framework of this strategy, Switzerland will provide 75 million USD in non-refundable aid for Vietnam in the next four years./.