During a reception in Hanoi for visiting member of the Swiss Federal Council and head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research Guy Parmelin, the PM also thanked Switzerland for its support to Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure.

The Swiss official spoke highly of the fine outcomes of the bilateral relations over the recent past and held that there is still room for further development. He also highlighted that many Swiss firms have landed their investment in Vietnam and created over 20,000 jobs for local workers.

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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research Guy Parmelin

Touching upon the negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), he expressed his hope that the two sides can soon sign the document.

In reply, PM Phuc highly valued efforts by both sides in narrowing the gap in outstanding issues, and asked the EFTA to take a more practical approach. He also asked the Swiss official to support and further push up investment from his country to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Government is striving to improve the investment and business environment to further facilitate the long-term operation by foreign firms, including Swiss ones, PM Phuc stressed and thanked Switzerland for providing official development assistance to Vietnam in various fields.

The Government leader also spoke highly of Switzerland’s active contributions to the maintenance of peace, security and development in the world, especially its continued voice for support of Vietnam and ASEAN’s just stance on settling disputes on the East Sea by peaceful means, on the basis of the international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Source: VNA