Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee Vũ Đại Thắng (right) welcomes Swiss President Guy Parmelin and his spouse Caroline Parmelin at the Nội Bài International Airport. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Swiss President Guy Parmelin and his spouse Caroline Parmelin, along with a high-ranking Swiss delegation, arrived in Hà Nội on Saturday, October 17 morning, beginning their official visit to Việt Nam from Saturday to Sunday at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm and his spouse.

The Swiss delegation was welcomed at Nội Bài International Airport by Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee Vũ Đại Thắng and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng.

Over 55 years of trust-building and cooperation, Việt Nam and Switzerland have maintained friendly relations while gradually expanding collaboration across a wide range of areas. The elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Partnership in January 2025 reflected the two sides’ determination to usher their relations into a new phase of development.

Switzerland is an important trade and investment partner of Việt Nam in Europe, with bilateral trade exceeding US$1 billion last year. It is also among the few Western European countries that continue to provide development cooperation assistance to Việt Nam. The two countries have consistently coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Châu Mai Anh, President Parmelin’s visit to Việt Nam comes at a particularly significant time. The year 2026 marks the 55th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Switzerland, while the two countries are implementing the Comprehensive Partnership framework established in January 2025.

The planned signing in Hà Nội of the Việt Nam-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the four EFTA member states – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – is an important milestone, expected to create a new breakthrough in economic ties between Việt Nam and Switzerland. The FTA will facilitate greater investment, expanded cooperation and more effective exploitation of the potential of both markets by businesses from the two sides.

In recent years, an increasing number of Swiss businesses has shown interest in the Vietnamese market, opening up more opportunities for companies from both countries to seek partners and launch new cooperation projects. Such cooperation will also help Vietnamese businesses gain access to science and technology and improve the quality of human resources to meet the requirements of the country’s new development phase.

Swiss Ambassador to Việt Nam Thomas Gass stressed that President Parmelin’s official visit marks an important historic milestone, providing an opportunity for the two countries to look back on their 55-year journey together and celebrate Việt Nam’s remarkable economic and social development achievements.

Since 1971, Switzerland has maintained humanitarian-oriented international cooperation programmes with Việt Nam. Over the past 15 years, bilateral ties have shifted strongly towards economic cooperation, helping Việt Nam integrate more deeply into the global economy while enhancing its position and role in the international arena. — VNA/VNS