General Secretary and President To Lam outlines 6 directions for Vietnam - Switzerland cooperation
General Secretary and President To Lam outlined 6 directions for Vietnam - Switzerland cooperation at the talks on the afternoon of October 17.
On the afternoon of October 17, in Hanoi, after a solemn official welcoming ceremony, General Secretary and President To Lam held talks with Swiss President Guy Parmelin.
General Secretary and President To Lam informed the Swiss President of Vietnam's socio-economic development situation in the past time, Vietnam's strategic orientations and foreign policies, affirming that Vietnam always values the Comprehensive Partnership with Switzerland, and wishes the two countries to continue to accompany and develop together, contributing to peace, stability and development in the region.
President Guy Parmelin affirmed that the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam, Switzerland and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries will be a good opportunity for businesses to exploit future cooperation potentials, especially when more than 100 Swiss companies are present in Vietnam and in the context that Switzerland has technology, potential solutions and Vietnam has rapid growth and a young population.
The two Leaders expressed their pleasure at the strong development of bilateral relations after more than 5 decades; agreed to continue to closely coordinate to further promote bilateral cooperation in accordance with the Comprehensive Partnership framework, taking advantage of the advantages of the Vietnam - EFTA Free Trade Agreement. The Swiss President emphasized that countries with medium economic scale can coordinate in joint economic initiatives to promote multilateralism and free trade and invited Vietnam to participate in the future partnership initiative for investment and trade.
The Swiss President agreed with six key cooperation orientations for the coming time proposed by General Secretary and President To Lam.
The first is to strengthen political trust through delegation exchanges, high-level contacts, mutual support at multilateral forums, elevate trade and investment cooperation after the Vietnam - EFTA Free Trade Agreement is signed and implemented, and encourage more Swiss businesses to invest in Vietnam, especially in the seaport sector.
The second is to promote cooperation between specialized agencies and financial and banking organizations of both countries on the deployment of digital finance, blockchain technology, digital assets, and financial technology (fintech).
The third is to make science - technology and innovation an important pillar of cooperation through existing cooperation mechanisms between the National Science and Technology Development Funds of the two sides, connecting and promoting academic links between universities and research institutes.
Fourth is to strengthen cooperation on environment, culture, and tourism.
Fifth, to make security and defense an important content of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of peacekeeping and cooperation in crime prevention and control.
Sixth is to continue to promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
The two sides agreed that countries are currently facing many challenges and risks as many major powers increase confrontation and committed that the parties need to promote dialogue in a neutral spirit. The Swiss President highly appreciated Vietnam's balanced foreign policy, helping Vietnam create a position in the region and in the world.
On this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam and the Swiss President witnessed the handover ceremony of a number of cooperation documents between ministries and sectors in the fields of labor, science and technology, trade and urban development. The two Leaders wished that after the document handover ceremony, the two sides could realize specific results that bring benefits to the business community and people of both sides.
The Swiss President invited Vietnam to attend the Global Conference on Artificial Intelligence held in Switzerland in 2027, to further promote cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.
Read the original here
