On May 11, at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, General Secretary and President To Lam had an online phone conversation with Swiss Federal President Guy Parmelin.
General Secretary and President To Lam highly appreciated the phone call taking place during the year the two sides celebrated the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations; and affirmed that Vietnam always values the friendly and multifaceted cooperation with Switzerland, wishing the two sides to continue to coordinate closely, effectively implement and deepen the Comprehensive Partnership framework established in January 2025.
General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Vietnam considers Switzerland as one of Vietnam's leading partners in Europe and wishes Switzerland to continue to be a reliable companion in Vietnam's new era of development.
For his part, President Guy Parmelin emphasized that Vietnam's rapid and comprehensive development achievements "make a strong impression on the world"; affirmed that Switzerland always values and wishes to continue to strengthen cooperative relations with Vietnam in the process of reform and implementation of national development goals in the new period.
The two leaders said that in the context of the world situation continuing to evolve rapidly, complicatedly and unpredictably, the two countries need to strengthen dialogue, consolidate political trust and further deepen multifaceted cooperation relations.
The Swiss President agreed with 4 key cooperation orientations proposed by General Secretary and President To Lam, which focus on strengthening political trust through regularly maintaining exchange and contact activities on all channels and levels, effectively implementing the contents of the Comprehensive Partnership framework; creating breakthroughs in trade and investment cooperation commensurate with the potential and position of the two countries; and at the same time promoting the role of science and technology as a new pillar of cooperation in bilateral relations, prioritizing joint research projects on agriculture, biotechnology, green energy and digital economy, making security and defense cooperation one of the key contents in the two countries' relations.
The two leaders also emphasized the importance of strengthening exchanges to soon conclude negotiations and sign the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member, in order to create new impetus for bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.
The General Secretary and President affirmed that Vietnam values and is ready to exchange information on intellectual property with Switzerland and other partners in accordance with international trade regulations; requested Switzerland to share experiences and support Vietnam in developing international financial centers and the fintech field, especially digital finance, blockchain, digital assets and sustainable finance, and at the same time wished Switzerland to continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Switzerland to stabilize their lives, integrate and develop, thereby contributing to fostering friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
