President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas will pay an official visit to Việt Nam from June 27-30 at the invitation of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vương Đình Huệ, according to an announcement from the Vietnamese NA Committee for External Relations.

During this visit, the Swiss delegation is set to hold official meetings with Vietnamese leaders, the Minister of Industry and Trade, with Hải Phòng City’s authorities, as well as visits to projects financed by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), meetings with the Swiss community in Hà Nội and representatives of Swiss companies in Việt Nam.

This high-ranking visit will be an outstanding opportunity to further strengthen Switzerland’s partnership with Việt Nam as well as to reinforce the excellent ties between the two parliaments.

During the visit, President Martin Candinas and the Swiss delegation will gain insight into the opportunities and energy of Việt Nam, collect information about the “Vietnamese economic boom” and on the effectiveness of Swiss development cooperation in this country in order to inform the Swiss Parliament and public, according to a notice from the Swiss Embassy in Hà Nội.

Switzerland established its diplomatic relations with Việt Nam on October 11, 1971, and opened its first Embassy in 1973.

Relations between Việt Nam and Switzerland have developed strongly over the past 50 years, extending beyond the political and the multilateral sphere to cover technical and economic cooperation, trade and investment, research and science, culture, tourism and people to people contacts.

In addition to high-level contacts, trade and investment relations have also developed. Swiss direct investment in Việt Nam in 2022 amounted to more than VNĐ51 trillion (ranking 21st among foreign investors and among the largest European ones in Việt Nam). More than 100 Swiss companies are active in Việt Nam.

The Swiss government has pursued technical and economic cooperation with Việt Nam since 1991 and has disbursed more than CHF600 million (nearly VNĐ15 trillion) in support of Việt Nam’s socio-economic development.

Việt Nam is currently one of Switzerland's priority countries for economic development cooperation and will receive CHF70 million for 2021-2024 under a technical assistance programme.

Starting in 2020, Switzerland and Việt Nam provide funding through a partnership with NAFOSTED to expand and strengthen Vietnamese-Swiss research cooperation; and a second one is to be launched in autumn 2023. Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member, and Việt Nam have been under way since 2012 and are currently one of the key issues on which both countries are working. — VNS