HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Sweden have agreed to accelerate the establishment of sectoral strategic partnerships in education-training, life science, health and the environment. 

This was decided by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh and Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström during talks in Hà Nội on November 23. 
The two officials also consented to increase the exchange of delegations, especially high-level ones, while continuing close co-ordination between Việt Nam and Sweden at regional and international forums. 
Minh proposed specific measures to step up bilateral co-operation in key spheres, including politics and diplomacy, trade and investment, education and training, science and technology, and national defence and security. 
He called on Sweden to speed up the signing and ratification of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), to pour more investments in Việt Nam, transfer cutting-edge technologies to the country and share its management experience in areas in which it was strong. 
Minh said he wanted Việt Nam to learn from Sweden’s experience in promoting innovation and start-ups, urging Sweden to grant more scholarships to Vietnamese students and create the best possible conditions for them to study in the European country. 
Minh also asked Sweden to share its experience in developing Triple Helix model, under which the Government, training establishments and enterprises work together closely in human resource development, and to assist Việt Nam complete its legal and judicial reform. 
The Deputy PM thanked Sweden for its material assistance and spiritual support during the struggle for national liberation and current national development. 

Wallström praised Việt Nam’s socio-economic development and international integration achievements, especially the country’s successful hosting of the APEC Year 2017. 

She said Sweden wanted to further develop traditional friendship and multi-faceted co-operation with Việt Nam. 
The two sides discussed regional and international matters of mutual concern, including the situation in the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the East Sea issue. 
Sweden is an important economic partner in Northern Europe with annual two-way trade revenue exceeding US$1.2 billion. In the first nine months of this year, the figure stood at more than $1 billion, up 16 per cent year-on-year. — VNS