During the visit, Candinas held talks with Chairman Hue, paid a courtesy call to President Vo Van Thuong and met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
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| President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas (L) meets Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh yesterday afternoon (Photo: SGGP) |
During talks and meetings, the Vietnamese leaders spoke highly of Candinas’s visit, saying that it is an opportunity to raise mutual understanding, deepen comprehensive relations and discuss measures to foster friendship and all-around ties between Vietnam and Switzerland, as well as between their legislative bodies.
Candinas said Switzerland is one of the first western European countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and until now, their bilateral relations have been growing in both bilateral and multilateral aspects. He vowed to continue bolstering cooperation between the two countries.
Switzerland always considers Vietnam a strategic partner in Southeast Asia, he said, adding that his visit aims to reaffirm and implement the foreign policy. Leaders of both countries shared the view that the two legislatures should play their roles in promoting economic, trade, and investment cooperation, just energy transition, digital transformation and climate change response, toward signing the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) soon.
While in Vietnam, Candinas also held working sessions with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and several economic establishments in Hai Duong and Hai Phong. His visit was an important parliamentary diplomatic activity that marks the resumption of high-level delegation exchanges between the two countries following the Covid-19 pandemic, contributing to deepening the close and reliable relationship between the two countries in various fields.
