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Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan |
In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the President's visit, the ambassador said during the visit, which will take place from November 25-29 at the invitation of Swiss President Guy Parmelin, President Phuc will hold talks with his Swiss counterpart and have a meeting with President of the Swiss National Council Andreas Aebi.
He will have working sessions with leaders of the United Nations Office in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), meet the Vietnamese community in Switzerland and attend a Vietnam - Switzerland business forum, Lan said, adding that the President will also work with leading pharmaceutical firms of Switzerland to strengthen cooperation in COVID-19 vaccine and treatment medicine supply.
She held that the visit manifests Vietnam’s great attention to the development of the traditional friendship and partnership with Switzerland, one of the first western European countries that set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1971. Switzerland is also one of the European countries that consider Vietnam a prioritised development partner. The country has provided 600 million USD in development aid to Vietnam in the 1991-2021 period.
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President Nguyen Xuan Phuc meeting with Swiss President Guy Parmelin in New York, the U.S.A. in September this year |
The visit also shows Vietnam’s strong commitment to further accelerating and deepening ties with Switzerland, she stressed, adding that it also reflects Vietnam’s multilateral foreign policy.
The ambassador expressed her optimism about the prospects of the partnership between the two countries.
She said that 2021 is a special year which not only marks the 50-year ties between the two countries, but also creates a chance for both sides to seek ways to speed up negotiations towards the signing of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), open up new cooperation opportunities and realise the great potential in bilateral collaboration, especially in trade, investment, sustainable development, renovation and digital transformation.
Similarities and shared values of both countries, along with the supplementary characteristics of the two economies and the great cooperation potential will be positive factors for the bilateral cooperative partnership, said Lan.
She also highlighted the contributions by overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs, experts and intellectuals in Switzerland to the connections between the two countries, especially in health care, policy consultation and investment attraction in high technology, digital transformation, renewable energy, green agriculture, and innovation, serving Vietnam's sustainable development.
Source: VNA