Increase political trust, expand cooperation

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that the Vietnamese Government always supports businesses investing in Vietnam in general, including Swiss businesses; and is committed to creating favorable conditions for Swiss businesses to expand their investment and long-term business.

Phó Thủ tướng Lê Minh Khái tiếp Quốc Vụ khanh Bộ Kinh tế, Giáo dục và Nghiên cứu Thụy Sỹ Dominique Paravicini. (Nguồn: TTXVN)

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai received Secretary of State for the Swiss Ministry of Economic Affairs, Education and Research Dominique Paravicini. (Source: VNA)

On the morning of October 26, receiving Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland Dominique Paravicini, on the occasion of attending the second OECD-Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum hosted by Vietnam as Co-Chair of the OECD Southeast Asia Program with Australia, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai believed that the participation and active contributions of the Secretary of State and the Swiss delegation will greatly contribute to the success of this year's Forum.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, the political and diplomatic relations between the two countries have recently been vibrant with high-level delegation exchanges, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding. This relationship needs to be maintained, creating a solid foundation, increasing political trust and expanding bilateral cooperation.

Sharing his fond memories of Switzerland during his time attending the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated and thanked Switzerland for supporting development investment during the years when Vietnam was facing many difficulties, especially ODA capital for hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and urban development. To date, Vietnam has surpassed the low-income threshold.

In the bilateral cooperation program for the 2021-2024 period, there is a cooperation amount of 76 million USD for the development of the private economic sector, intellectuals, and some new orientations. The two sides need to coordinate to use this capital effectively.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that the Vietnamese Government always supports businesses investing in Vietnam in general, including Swiss businesses; committed to creating favorable conditions for Swiss businesses to expand investment and long-term business, especially in areas where Switzerland has strengths and Vietnam has demand such as finance - banking, insurance, manufacturing industry, pharmaceuticals, high-tech agriculture, etc.

Regarding the negotiation process of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to soon conclude negotiations and sign this Agreement.

As an important member of the EFTA bloc, the Deputy Prime Minister hopes that Switzerland will coordinate with member countries and Vietnam to soon narrow the gap on remaining issues, moving towards concluding negotiations as soon as possible.

This is not only important, creating a solid foundation for economic and investment relations between Vietnam and the EFTA bloc in general and Switzerland in particular, but also facilitating Switzerland and the EFTA bloc to access the ASEAN market. In negotiations, one cannot lean to one side, benefits must be harmonized, risks must be shared, and this viewpoint must be used to narrow differences and soon reach an agreement to sign the agreement.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai also expressed his wish that Switzerland would share its experience and support Vietnam in building a high-quality education system; promote cooperation and exchange between educational institutions of the two sides; and implement joint training programs in fields in which Switzerland has strengths, especially in pharmaceuticals, manufacturing technology, precision engineering, tourism, finance - banking, insurance, etc. He suggested that Switzerland increase the number of scholarships granted to Vietnamese students to study in Switzerland.

Thanking Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai for taking the time to welcome him, Secretary of State Dominique Paravicini informed about his visit to Ho Chi Minh City, meeting with the Swiss business community there, and working sessions with ministries and branches; emphasizing that Switzerland's foreign policy is to be friends with countries around the world, deepening economic and trade relations will be a good foundation for building political cooperation.

Secretary of State Dominique Paravicini shared the honor of participating in the high-level visits between the two countries, saying that these visits will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries; only when working together to build good relationships can the country recover and develop.

Mr. Dominique Paravicini also said that through contact, Swiss enterprises that are producing and trading highly appreciate the potential of Vietnam; hope and believe that in the coming time, Swiss enterprises will have a greater presence here, and at the same time wish that in the Swiss market there will be more high-end products from Vietnam.

With a deep foundation in the fields that have been established, Vietnam and Switzerland still have a wide open space to continue developing cooperation in the coming time.

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