Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) hosts Swedish Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Robert Rydberg in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)Vietnam always bear in mind the valuable support ofthe Swedish government and people to the country during its past struggle fornational defence and reunification, and the present cause of nationalconstruction and development, the minister stressed.
Son noted with pleasure active developments of the relationsover the past time, both bilaterally and multilaterally, saying the two sideshave favourable conditions to consolidate and expand cooperation, especially inthe areas of Vietnam’s priorities and Sweden’s strengths like high-quality personneldevelopment, modern infrastructure construction for sustainabledevelopment, institutions and laws, and socio-economicmanagement.
He suggested the two foreign ministries continue theirclose cooperation to fully tap available potential and push collaboration between thetwo countries in the time ahead, particularly in politics-diplomacy, economy,education, green transition, digital economy and circular economy, and atmultilateral forums, thus bringing practical benefits to their people andcontributing to cooperation and development in the two regions.
For his part, Rydberg congratulated Vietnam on itsachievements in socio-economic development, international integration and theCOVID-19 fight, and emphasised that Sweden considers Vietnam a priority partnerin Southeast Asia, and wishes to tighten the bilateral ties.
The officials agreed to step up meetings anddelegation exchanges, as well as trade and investment promotion activities, andexpand the bilateral cooperation in other potential areas.
Earlier the same day, Rydberg and Deputy ForeignMinister Ha Kim Ngoc co-chaired the political consultation between theVietnamese and Swedish foreign ministries in Hanoi, during which the sidesexchanged views on the bilateral collaboration and regional and internationalissues of shared concern.
They reviewed the Vietnam-Sweden cooperation indifferent spheres, and reached consensus on measures to boost the ties afterthe COVID-19 pandemic.
Ngoc suggested the two sides resume all-leveldelegation exchanges and increase trade and investment promotion activities,and called on Sweden to share its experience in innovation, science-technology,energy, climate change response, green growth, the fulfillment of commitmentsat the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), and utilisation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Rydberg said the Swedish business community regardsVietnam as an important market in the global value chain, and shared the viewthat the two ministries should further their close coordination to contributeto fostering the relationship between the two countries dynamically and effectivelyacross spheres.
The sides also consented to maintain their cooperationat multilateral forums and their mutual support in the election and nominationto United Nations agencies and organisations, along with cooperation within theframeworks of ASEAN-EU and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
They exchanged views on regional and international issuesof common concern in Asia-Pacific and Europe, the East Sea issue and the Mekongsub-regional cooperation./.
VNA
