State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage leave Geneva on November 29, concluding their official visit to the Swiss Federation. (Photo: VNA)The success of the visit strongly conveyed a message on Vietnam's desireto promote multifaceted and practical relations with Switzerland through newcooperation orientations, and potentials in economy, trade and investment. Thetrip affirmed Vietnam's policy of attaching importance to cooperation with theUN as well as specialised UN organisations based in Switzerland; as well as ofmobilising support for Vietnam’s efforts for COVID-19 prevention and control,recovery and socio-economic development in the coming time via innovation,creativity and implementation of sustainable development goals.
On November 26 (local time), the Swiss President hosted anofficial welcome ceremony for his Vietnamese counterpart in Bern city.
The two leaders held talks following the ceremony. In thespirit of building, trust and mutual understanding, both presidents agreed tofurther strengthen cooperation in the fields of science, technology, educationand training, towards establishing the framework of partnership on innovation.
Parmelin assessed Vietnam as an effective ODA using partner,adding that the Swiss Government has decided to continue to provide Vietnamwith 70 million CHF (over 75.6 million USD) worth of ODA in the 2021-2024period, focusing on the fields of environmental protection and economic reform.
At a joint press conference after their talks, PresidentParmelin described President Phuc’s official visit as a new developmentmilestone in Switzerland-Vietnam relations. He affirmed that Vietnam is apriority nation in Switzerland’s economic cooperation policy and that the goalof a support programme of the Swiss ministry of economy is to help Vietnam'seconomy develop more inclusively and sustainably.
He also said that the signing of a free trade agreement(FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of whichSwitzerland is a member, will certainly be effective in the future.
Meanwhile, at a meeting with President Phuc, President of the SwissNational Council Andreas Aebi supported increasing the nations’ economic collaboration,particularly soon concluding the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA, and expressedhis willingness to cooperate with Vietnam in innovation.
President Phuc and President Parmelin also co-chaired a Vietnam- Switzerland Business Forum in Bern, with the participation of representatives from over100 businesses of the two countries.
Also in Bern, President Phuc met with Mayor of Bern Alec VonGraffenried and received former Swiss President Schneider Ammann, and HonoraryConsul of Vietnam in Switzerland Philipp Roesler, who is former Deputy PrimeMinister, former Minister of Economy and Science and Technology of Germany, aswell as leaders of local businesses.
In Geneva, President Phuc met Director Generalof the UN Office in Geneva Tatiana Valovaya, Director General of the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Director General ofthe World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Daren Tang.
During the official visit, many bilateral activities tookplace between leaders of Vietnamese ministries, central departments, and sectors with Swiss partners and UN organisations./.
VNA
