Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung met with Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who is also Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, in Hanoi on October 18 to discuss measures to bring the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) into force at an early date, boost trade and investment, and expand cooperation into new areas.
The meeting took place during President Parmelin’s official visit to Vietnam on October 17–18, as the two countries are celebrating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations (October 11, 1971–2026).
Hung welcomed President Parmelin and his delegation, expressing gratitude for the Swiss leader’s direct guidance in bringing negotiations on the FTA to a successful conclusion on July 2, 2026 after more than 14 years and 21 formal rounds of talks. The agreement was signed in Hanoi on the morning of October 18 in the presence of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam.
Switzerland is Vietnam’s largest trading partner within the EFTA. Swiss statistics showed that bilateral trade reached approximately 3.5 billion USD in 2025, up nearly 26%. According to Vietnam's Department of Customs, two-way trade totalled 806.2 million USD in the first nine months of 2026. As of September 30, Switzerland had 247 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with total registered capital of around 2.5 billion USD, ranking 20th among 154 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country.
Hung said his ministry will work with relevant ministries and agencies to submit the agreement for the Government's approval and issue an implementation plan and related legal documents. He called on both sides to exchange updates regularly on the ratification progress and urged EFTA members, including Switzerland, to complete their procedures promptly so that the agreement could take effect from early 2027.
To help businesses seize opportunities, the official proposed Switzerland and other EFTA members provide information about the agreement, particularly to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), align support programmes with its implementation, and strengthen cooperation on rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade. He affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to fully implementing its obligations, including those on intellectual property.
To achieve the leaders’ goal of doubling bilateral trade by 2030, Hung called for improved Swiss market access for Vietnamese agricultural, aquatic and processed food products, greater purchases by major Swiss distribution networks, and continued support through the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO) and SwissTrade project.
He also encouraged Swiss businesses to expand investment in precision engineering, supporting industries, food processing, renewable energy, commercial infrastructure and logistics. Vietnam will work closely with Switzerland to finalise a bilateral agreement on cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, implement the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs’ (SECO) 2025–2028 economic development cooperation programme, and expand collaboration in science and technology, innovation, smart factories and derivatives market management.
President Parmelin praised the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s role in the negotiations, and pledged to promote ratification, encourage Swiss investment in Vietnam and maintain cooperation through SECO programmes. The two sides also discussed reviewing and updating their bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement, as well as cooperation in areas such as SMEs and vocational training.
Both sides agreed to maintain regular exchanges on approval and ratification progress and translate the agreed cooperation areas into concrete action, helping make the Vietnam–Switzerland Comprehensive Partnership more substantive and effective./.
VNA
