Swiss Ambassador of Switzerland to Việt Nam Thomas Gass. — VNA/VNS Photo

Swiss Ambassador to Việt Nam Thomas Gass spoke to the press on the occasion of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính's attendance at the upcoming 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland alongside a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation.

Can you elaborate the key contents and significance of the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF)?

First of all, thank you for coming to speak to me about the WEF, about this year's annual meetings which will take place this week in Davos in Switzerland. This is obviously a very important coming together of the leaders, of the political leaders, but also of the economic leaders of the world together with civil society to discuss the impact of the intelligent society.

Every one of us is now using ChatGPT and artificial intelligence. What does that mean for economic growth? What does it mean for the way our industrialisation is evolving? What does it mean for the way that the human resources and the capacities of the workers are being built up in the factories and in the companies?

What does it mean in terms of rebuilding trust in the international community? These are some of the important topics that will be discussed in Davos this year, and that is why we are very excited that Việt Nam is going to be an active participant in this year's event.

A Vietnamese high-ranking delegation led by PM Chính will attend the 55th Annual Meeting of the WEF. What are your expectations about Việt Nam's contributions to the meeting?

In a world that is marked by a lot of tensions and polarisation, it is extremely important that countries such as Việt Nam take an active role and also let their voice be heard. This is consistent with the vision of the Politburo and the Government of Việt Nam, that Việt Nam should have a stronger and more prominent role at the regional and global level.

Of course, as Switzerland, we are very excited that PM Chính is going to meet our President, Madam Karin Keller-Sutter, in a bilateral meeting where they will discuss the strengthening of the bilateral relationships and the elevation of the bilateral partnership. We will also be listening to what PM Chính has to say in terms of his analysis of the global situation and also the solutions that Việt Nam can propose to these challenges that I have mentioned earlier on.

I am also aware that the Vietnamese delegation is preparing for very important and relevant side events on the mobilisation of finances for FinTech (financial technology), for the building of international financial centres in Việt Nam, and the mobilisation of funding into the pharmaceutical industry and generally towards more innovation for renewable energy, for a service-oriented industry in Việt Nam. These are all very, very relevant topics and I know that PM Chính will be able to convene some high-level CEOs around the table during these side events that are being facilitated by VinaCapital on the one hand and by Sovico VietJet on the other hand.

How do you evaluate the Việt Nam-Switzerland cooperation in 2024? What do you expect from the relationship in the near future?

The relationship between Việt Nam and Switzerland is a strong relationship, a relationship of friendship. When you go outside you will not see many big signboards of Swiss companies, but if you go into the Vietnamese factories, you will see a lot of Swiss machines – whether it's the robots that make the VinFast cars, whether it's the Bülher mills that are producing the rice, or whether it's the coffee transformation plants of Nestlé. Actually, there is a lot [of Swiss presence]. When you came up here to my building, you also used the Schindler lift. So these are just some of the examples of Swiss companies.

We also have a lot of companies in the FinTech area that are already working here, doing back-office internet services for European banks and insurance companies, and post systems. We have Swiss companies developing software here in Việt Nam. So there is a lot of very exciting things happening.

At the same time, I should admit that Việt Nam has a free trade agreement with all the neighbouring countries of Switzerland which is a challenge for us, so that is a very high priority which I am discussing with the Government in a spirit of friendship and partnership. — VNA/VNS