Swiss President Guy Parmelin (L) and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc review the guard of honour at the welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese leader in Bern city on November 26 morning. (Photo: VNA)

President of Switzerland Guy Parmelin hosted an official welcome ceremony for his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is paying an official visit to the European country, in Bern city on November 26 morning (local time).

The two leaders held talks following the ceremony.

The official visit to Switzerland by the Vietnamese President takes place amid the 50th founding anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic ties (October 1971 - 2021) and the 30th anniversary of their development cooperation. It is an illustration of their traditional friendship and close-knit relations over the last five decades.

Switzerland is one of the most important economic partners of Vietnam in Europe. Bilateral trade hit a record of 3.6 billion USD in 2019. About 140 Swiss companies, including world-class firms like Nestle, ABB, Novartis, Roche, and Holcim have been operating successfully in Vietnam. With the total investment of nearly 2 billion USD, Switzerland is the sixth largest European investor in Vietnam.

On the basis of the time-tested friendship and sound cooperation in all fields, the talks between the two Presidents are expected to create a new political impulse to tap into the countries’ huge potential and open up greater cooperation opportunities, thus bringing bilateral relations to the next level./.