NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn greeted Maja Riniker, President of the Swiss National Council, on Tuesday in Geneva. VNA/VNS Photos

GENEVA — National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn has proposed Việt Nam and Switzerland promote legislative cooperation, particularly on law building in the areas of finance, banking, international financial centres, digital banking, digital assets, blockchain and fintech.

He made the proposal during talks with Maja Riniker, President of the Swiss National Council, on Tuesday in Geneva while attending the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.

The NA chairman expressed his delight at the rapid recent development of Việt Nam–Switzerland relations, demonstrated by the two countries officially upgrading their ties to a Comprehensive Partnership in January during the visit of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to Switzerland.

Mẫn thanked Switzerland for its valuable support to Việt Nam in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and last year's devastating Typhoon Yagi.

To further strengthen the comprehensive partnership, the legislative leader proposed that both sides increase the exchange of delegations at all levels.

He also invited the Swiss National Council President to revisit Việt Nam for the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries next year.

The two sides should promote exchanges among specialised committees, friendship parliamentary groups, young parliamentarians and female parliamentarians, he said.

Mẫn also called for speedy negotiations and signing of the Việt Nam–Switzerland Investment Protection Agreement and a bilateral tax agreement, as well as resuming talks for a free trade agreement between Việt Nam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which is comprised of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

He suggested closer consultation between the two countries at multilateral and regional parliamentary forums, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Francophone Parliamentary Assembly.

Riniker thanked the Vietnamese National Assembly for the warm reception during her 2023 visit to Việt Nam, calling it a milestone in parliamentary relations and leaving positive impressions.

She praised the progress in bilateral relations and congratulated Việt Nam on its significant achievements and growing international stature.

The Swiss legislative leader expressed hope that the Việt Nam–EFTA agreement would soon be signed to expand trade cooperation.

Maintaining regular meetings between the two countries’ parliaments was essential to strengthening bilateral ties, she noted.

Riniker welcomed Chairman Mẫn’s participation in the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Switzerland, emphasising that in a global context where democratic parliamentary dialogues are limited, the conference would present an opportunity for parliaments to meet and seek solutions to global issues.

Switzerland and Việt Nam shared the desire to address international challenges through peaceful dialogue, and Switzerland would be keen to strengthen parliamentary cooperation with Việt Nam, she said.

The same day in Geneva, the NA chairman also held talks with President of the Swiss Council of States Andrea Caroni.

NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn was welcomed by President of the Swiss Council of States Andrea Caroni in Geneva.

He noted that Việt Nam highly valued Switzerland’s role within the IPU, appreciated the importance of its relations with the union and regularly participated in high-level IPU meetings.

Engaging in IPU frameworks provides opportunities for the Vietnamese NA to update, learn and improve its legislative capacity to keep pace with global development trends, according to Mẫn.

He stressed that any nation’s achievements must be built on a strong legal foundation, as this is essential for ensuring a secure and prosperous life for its people.

Mẫn confirmed that the Vietnamese NA was keenly aware of this and continuously worked to improve the legal system, learning from international friends including Switzerland, so that Việt Nam’s legal framework supports both the well-being of its people and the smooth development of its economy.

Also on Tuesday, the NA chairman held talks with Khuon Sudary, President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia. VNS