Ambassador Le Linh Lan (Source: VNA) Geneva(VNA) - Relations between Vietnam and Switzerland have developed fruitfullyover the past five decades, especially in politics-diplomacy, trade-investment,development cooperation, and education-training, Vietnamese Ambassador toSwitzerland Le Linh Lan has said.
Speaking withthe Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (1971-2021) and 30 years of the Vietnam-Switzerlanddevelopment cooperation programme, the ambassador said the two sides havemaintained high-level delegations and exchanges on the fringes of the annualWorld Economic Forum (WEF).
Vietnam andSwitzerland have also effectively cooperated and supported each other withininternational organisations and international multilateral forums such as theUnited Nations, ASEAN, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
They have agreedto support each other when running for seats at many internationalorganisations, most notably non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,Lan said.
A responsiblemember of ASEAN, Vietnam has also backed Switzerland to become the grouping’ssectoral dialogue partner since 2016, she went on.
The twocountries have shared views on international issues relating to peace,stability, respect for law, and the implementation of the UN sustainabledevelopment goals (SDGs).
Regarding bilateraleconomic ties, Lan said two-way trade grows 15-20 percent each year, hittingover 3.6 billion USD in 2019. Switzerland is an increasingly important partner forVietnam, while the Southeast Asian country is Switzerland’s fourth-largesttrade partner in ASEAN.
As of 2020,Switzerland had 152 valid projects worth nearly 2 billion USD in Vietnam,ranking it 19th out of 132 countries and territories investing in thecountry and becoming the sixth-largest European investor in the country.
The ambassadoralso highlighted bilateral cooperation in education and training, saying thetwo countries signed a memorandum of understanding on collaboration ininnovation and creativity during the visit to Switzerland by Minister ofScience and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh in October 2019.
Regarding the feasibility of a freetrade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA),Lan said Swiss leaders have repeatedly expressed their hope of speeding upnegotiations towards the signing of the deal, to facilitate economic recoveryin the two countries and deal with the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She stressed thatSwiss projects on development cooperation have significantly contributed to Vietnam’ssocio-economic development, as the latter is on a path towards becoming amodern industrialised country with upper middle incomes.
Lan said shebelieves that the two countries still have great opportunities and momentum toadvance their cooperation, given Vietnam’s elevated position in the globalproduction chain as well as its engagement in new-generation FTAs like theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP).
The earlyconclusion and signing of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA would create a driverto boost bilateral trade ties and attract quality Swiss investment in Vietnam,especially in sustainable development, innovation, creativity, and digitaltransformation, the ambassador said./.
Speaking withthe Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (1971-2021) and 30 years of the Vietnam-Switzerlanddevelopment cooperation programme, the ambassador said the two sides havemaintained high-level delegations and exchanges on the fringes of the annualWorld Economic Forum (WEF).
Vietnam andSwitzerland have also effectively cooperated and supported each other withininternational organisations and international multilateral forums such as theUnited Nations, ASEAN, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
They have agreedto support each other when running for seats at many internationalorganisations, most notably non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,Lan said.
A responsiblemember of ASEAN, Vietnam has also backed Switzerland to become the grouping’ssectoral dialogue partner since 2016, she went on.
The twocountries have shared views on international issues relating to peace,stability, respect for law, and the implementation of the UN sustainabledevelopment goals (SDGs).
Regarding bilateraleconomic ties, Lan said two-way trade grows 15-20 percent each year, hittingover 3.6 billion USD in 2019. Switzerland is an increasingly important partner forVietnam, while the Southeast Asian country is Switzerland’s fourth-largesttrade partner in ASEAN.
As of 2020,Switzerland had 152 valid projects worth nearly 2 billion USD in Vietnam,ranking it 19th out of 132 countries and territories investing in thecountry and becoming the sixth-largest European investor in the country.
The ambassadoralso highlighted bilateral cooperation in education and training, saying thetwo countries signed a memorandum of understanding on collaboration ininnovation and creativity during the visit to Switzerland by Minister ofScience and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh in October 2019.
Regarding the feasibility of a freetrade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA),Lan said Swiss leaders have repeatedly expressed their hope of speeding upnegotiations towards the signing of the deal, to facilitate economic recoveryin the two countries and deal with the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She stressed thatSwiss projects on development cooperation have significantly contributed to Vietnam’ssocio-economic development, as the latter is on a path towards becoming amodern industrialised country with upper middle incomes.
Lan said shebelieves that the two countries still have great opportunities and momentum toadvance their cooperation, given Vietnam’s elevated position in the globalproduction chain as well as its engagement in new-generation FTAs like theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP).
The earlyconclusion and signing of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA would create a driverto boost bilateral trade ties and attract quality Swiss investment in Vietnam,especially in sustainable development, innovation, creativity, and digitaltransformation, the ambassador said./.
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