On the afternoon of August 15, at the Presidential Palace, Politburo member and President Luong Cuong received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Vietnam Keijo Norvanto to bid farewell on the occasion of the end of his term.
At the meeting, the President congratulated the Ambassador for his successful term in Vietnam, actively contributing to strengthening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Finland.
The President emphasized that Vietnam always appreciates Finland's role and position in the European Union (EU) and attaches importance to deepening cooperation with Finland in various fields; at the same time, he expressed his appreciation for Finland's multifaceted support over the decades, making an important contribution to the process of building and developing Vietnam.
Thanking the President for taking the time to meet, Ambassador Keijo Norvanto affirmed that the two countries have had more than 50 years of development cooperation; especially during the Ambassador's term, there were strong changes in economic development of each country as well as the world, including digital transformation and green transformation.
At the same time, during his term, the Ambassador was honored to promote cooperation in developing education, training, research, and innovation between the two countries and hoped to further promote cooperation in these fields in the coming time.
Impressed by Vietnam's "4 pillar resolutions" to develop the country in the new era, Ambassador Keijo Norvanto expressed his willingness to cooperate with and support Vietnam in effectively implementing innovation orientations; at the same time, he hoped to cooperate to promote activities to improve the effectiveness of law promulgation and judicial reform...
Stating as an active member of the EU, Ambassador Keijo Norvanto affirmed that Finland strongly supports promoting Vietnam - EU relations, promoting the effective implementation of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement; emphasizing that Finnish enterprises operating in Vietnam continue to maintain strong cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises for mutual development.
Agreeing with the Ambassador's opinion, the President highly appreciated Finland's continued priority in supporting Vietnam in implementing many projects on healthcare, electricity, water supply and drainage, waste treatment, fire prevention and fighting.
The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding in the fields of education - training, labor, natural resources, environment and agriculture, etc.
President Luong Cuong affirmed that Vietnam's consistent foreign policy is peace, independence, self-reliance, friendship, cooperation and development; multilateralization and diversification; Vietnam is always an active and responsible member of the international community.
The President suggested that the Ambassador in his new position will continue to promote his role as a bridge to promote the development of Vietnam - Finland relations to become better and better, substantially, effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements and exploit maximum potential, opening up new cooperation directions in areas where Finland has strengths and Vietnam has needs.
President Luong Cuong also hopes that Ambassador Keijo Norvanto will keep good impressions of the country and people of Vietnam and, in any position, will always be a close friend of Vietnam, continuing to foster the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Finland.
