National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan welcomes President of the Council of States of Switzerland Ivo Bischofberger (Photo: VNA)Chairwoman Ngan made the proposal during hertalks with President of the Council of States of Switzerland Ivo Bischofberger inHanoi on March 29 after hosting an official welcome ceremony for the Swissleader.
Switzerland is animportant economic partner of Vietnam in Europe, she said, citing the two-waytrade value exceeded 1 billion USD in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 50percent.
The top legislator thanked the Swiss parliamentand government for their promise to provide 90 million USD in officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in the 2017 – 2020 period, andsuggested the two sides work together closely to effectively use this aidpackage.
She expressed herdelight at the growing bilateral relationship, particularly in politics,diplomacy, trade, investment and development cooperation, and called on the twonations to push ahead with the exchange of delegations at all-level andcooperation at multilateral forums to increase their mutual understanding andpolitical trust.
A range of activities were held in 2016 tocelebrate the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties, including Vietnam Dayin Switzerland, she noted.
For his part, Bischofberger said his visit toVietnam through March 31 aims to bolster the friendship between the twolegislative bodies and contribute to furthering the multi-faceted cooperationbetween Vietnam and Switzerland.
Switzerland has stood side by side with Vietnamsince the early 1990s, he said, adding that as one of the four members of theEuropean Free Trade Association (EFTA), Switzerland always supportsnegotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam, which is expected tocreate a legal corridor and open up investment and cooperation opportunitiesand trade exchanges for businesses from the member nations.
Bischofberger stressed that Swiss enterprisesare interested in investing in Vietnam, and hoped that the Southeast Asiancountry will create a favourable legal framework and business climate for them.
During the talks, the two sides also sharedexperience in environmental protection. Vietnam proposed Switzerland providetechnical support in building laws in the field.
They agreed to strengthen cooperation ineducation and training. Vietnam called Switzerland to increase the number ofscholarships for Vietnamese students to pursue study in major fields such aslaw, banking, high technology and tourism, while Switzerland affirmed to openvocational training courses for Vietnam.
The two sides consented to increasethe exchange of visits by high-ranking delegations, committees and friendshipparliamentarians groups to share experience in parliamentary operations, layinga foundation for the development of practical and effective cooperation in allfields.
Earlier on the sameday, the Swiss delegation laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho ChiMinh at his mausoleum, and visited Uncle Ho’s Stilt House.-VNA
VNA
