Swiss President Guy Parmelin (left) hosts welcome ceremony for Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Bern, November 26, 2021. Photo: VGP

Following the welcome ceremony, President Nguyen, who is on an official visit to Switzerland 25-29, held talks with Swiss President Parmelin and attended the Viet Nam-Switzerland Business Forum.

During the talks, President Nguyen thanked the Swiss Government for donation of medical equipment worth around US$5 million to help Viet Nam combat COVID-19.

Both sides agreed to strengthen coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organizations such as the United Nations and the Asia-Europe Meeting.

The two countries agreed to soon conclude talks on a free trade agreement between between Viet Nam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) consisting of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are now underway, which is expected to give a strong boost for bilateral economic cooperation./.

The Vietnamese side pledged to back Switzerland to enhance cooperation with ASEAN.

On the East Sea issue, the Swiss side underlined the importance of ensuring maritime freedom, observation of international law and settlement of disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of transparent dialogues and trust building.

Switzerland is one of Viet Nam’s key trading partners in Europe. The two-way trade reached new record of US$3.6 billion in 2019.

It is 6^th biggest European investors in Viet Nam with total registered capital of nearly US$2 billion. Many Swiss business giants like Nestle, ABB, Novartis, Roche, and Holcim have invested in Viet Nam./.