President's visit to create political motivation for growth of Viet Nam-Switzerland partnership: Ambassador Le Linh Lan
The upcoming Switzerland visit by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is expected to create a strong political motivation and open up bigger opportunities for the cooperation between Viet Nam and the European country which are commensurate with their potential and strengths, stated the Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan. |
In an interview 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 Organisation (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), meet the Vietnamese community in Switzerland and attend a Viet Nam-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 Viet Nam’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 Viet Nam in 1971. Switzerland is also one of the European countries that consider Viet Nam a prioritised development partner. The country has provided 600 million USD in development aid to Viet Nam in the 1991-2021 period.
The visit also shows Viet Nam’s strong commitment to further accelerating and deepening ties with Switzerland, she stressed, adding that it also reflects Viet Nam’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 that 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 Viet Nam and the European Free Trade Association (EVFTA), open up new cooperation opportunities and realise the great potential in the 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 Viet Nam's sustainable development.
(Source: VNA)
