Vietnam always attaches much importance to intensifying the friendship and traditional cooperation with Switzerland, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh said while meeting with Swiss President Ueli Maurer in Bern on July 3.

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh meets with Swiss President Ueli Maurer.
(Photo: VNA)

Expressing her delight over the sound relations between the two nations in the past years, particularly in the fields of politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, education-training, and cooperation for development, she thanked the European country for supporting Vietnam to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) during 2020-2021.

Vietnam wants to boost collaboration, and share experience with Switzerland to fulfill its mission at the UNSC, she added.

Ueli Maurer, for his part, spoke highly of Vietnam’s socio-economic development, and global integration achievements, and congratulated Vietnam on winning the non-permanent seat at the UNSC.

He affirmed Switzerland always treasures the relations with Vietnam, and hoped that Vietnam would promote its role as a responsible and proactive member at the international organisations to which both nations are members.

At the meeting, both sides agreed to enhance collaboration at multilateral forums, particularly the UN. 

They reached consensus on promoting exchanges of high-ranking delegations to create impetus for the bilateral ties, joining hands to successfully organise the upcoming visit to Vietnam by head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research Guy Parmelin. They also discussed the negotiation progress of the trade deal between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), in which Switzerland plays an important role.

They wished the trade deal will be signed soon, helping create a breakthrough in the bilateral trade ties.

Vice President Thinh stated that Switzerland is an important trade-investment and development cooperation partner in Europe, saying the Vietnamese Government is working to facilitate long-term operations of Swiss companies engaging in the fields of Vietnam’s needs, like finance-banking, insurance, manufacturing industry, pharmacy, agricultural processing, and tourism.

Lauding Switzerland’s  contributions to global peace, security and development, Thinh hoped the country will continue its support for Vietnam and ASEAN as a whole to settle disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means, on the basis of international regulations, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 (UNCLOS 1982).

To that end, they were unanimous to coordinate to ensure the respect of international laws in the world.

Thinh took the occasion to convey Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong’s invitation to the Swiss President to pay an official visit to Vietnam soon.

Vice President Thinh is in Switzerland to attend the 2019 Global Summit of Women from July 3-7.