History of formation and functions, tasks
The Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland (also in charge of Liechtenstein), part of the trade office system of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, has affirmed its role as an important bridge in promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
With a long history of operation, the Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland (also in Liechtenstein) plays the role of the official representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam abroad and has made important contributions to expanding markets, performing trade promotion functions, supporting Vietnamese enterprises to access major markets in Europe as well as promoting effective economic connection programs.
Switzerland is considered a competitive and stable economy. With extremely impressive numbers over the years. In addition, this country's economy is also one of the most stable economies in the world. This country has a long-standing monetary security policy and has kept a great deal of secrecy.
Switzerland is a country with a high standard of living, with a GDP per capita of up to 33,800 USD/year. Switzerland is also a member of many major trade organizations in the world such as OECD, WTO, EFTA, JEC.
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| The Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland (also in Liechtenstein) always supports Vietnamese and Swiss businesses and other countries in connecting trade. Photo: People's Army Newspaper |
Economic, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Switzerland have been developing positively in recent times. Some areas in Vietnam that Swiss investment funds assess to have great potential are export, tourism and information technology services.
Vietnam considers Switzerland one of its important partners in Europe and Switzerland also considers Vietnam to be the most dynamic economy in Southeast Asia, a strategic partner for regional economic cooperation.
According to the latest data from Swiss Customs, in the first 9 months of 2024, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Switzerland (including Lichtenstein, which is included in the statistics of Swiss Customs) reached 2.029 billion USD, an increase of 9.5% over the same period in 2023. Of which, Vietnam's exports to Switzerland reached 1.566 billion USD, an increase of 9.5% over the same period in 2023; Vietnam's imports from Switzerland reached 463.4 million USD, also an increase of 9.5% over the same period in 2023.
Some memorable milestones of the Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland (concurrently in charge of Liechtenstein)
In 1971, Vietnam and Switzerland officially established diplomatic relations. After more than 50 years of construction and development, the relationship between the two countries has become increasingly strong, not only in the fields of politics and multilateral cooperation, but also expanding to economic cooperation, technical assistance, trade, investment and many other important fields. Regular high-level exchanges between the two countries have created the premise for trade and investment relations to continuously increase.
In terms of trade, Switzerland is currently Vietnam's leading economic partner in Europe; meanwhile, Vietnam is Switzerland's 34th largest trading partner globally and Switzerland's 11th largest trading partner in Asia.
Since 1992, through the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland has provided Vietnam with ODA capital of about 687 million USD. In the Cooperation Program between Switzerland and Vietnam for the period 2021-2024, Switzerland has committed to providing about 76 million USD in aid to achieve two major goals: promoting the formation of a healthy economic framework, market orientation and enhancing the competitiveness and market access of the private sector. Switzerland is always interested in and wishes to soon sign the Vietnam - EFTA Free Trade Agreement, expecting that the two sides can sign the agreement in 2024.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland always strives to promote trade, enhance cooperation between Vietnamese and Swiss enterprises, and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese goods to be exported to this market.
In March 2024, within the framework of a working trip to Europe, in Zurich (Switzerland), the People's Committee of Thai Binh province coordinated with the Embassy of Vietnam in Switzerland, the Vietnam - Switzerland Business Bridge (SVBG) and the Swiss - Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) to organize a trade and investment promotion conference with the theme "Thai Binh Economic Zone - A rising economic satellite in Northern Vietnam" to introduce the potential and strengths of the province. In its role as a bridge to promote trade and investment, the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland said it will continue to coordinate to promote and introduce the potential, strengths and investment orientation of Vietnam in general, and Thai Binh in particular, to businesses, business support organizations, investment consulting firms and economic research organizations in Switzerland and Europe, contributing to enhancing the image and position of Vietnam as an attractive destination for foreign investors.
In June 2024, at the University of Zurich, the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland coordinated to organize the Vietnam - Switzerland Economic Forum 2024. Accordingly, the forum focused on discussing 4 topics, including: (1) Policies to support trade, investment and development cooperation; (2) The role and potential of Vietnam - Switzerland cooperation in key areas; (3) Opportunities and potential for cooperation between the two countries in the financial sector and (4) Startup investment.
Vietnam and Switzerland agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation in areas where Switzerland has strengths and Vietnam has demand, affirming their determination to promote the signing of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA bloc, creating a breakthrough in trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland (concurrently in Liechtenstein) Commercial Counselor Nguyen Duc Thuong Address: Stadtbachstrasse 42, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland Phone: +41 31 304 27 66 Fax: (+41) 31 301 4681 Email:[email protected] |
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