Within the framework of his official visit to Sweden, on the morning of June 13 (local time), Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristers.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Ulf Kristers affirmed that the Government and people of Sweden always attach importance to the relationship with Vietnam and wish to further promote cooperation between the two sides in many fields such as trade, investment, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, climate change response, sustainable development, etc.
On the basis of "a heroic past, a bright future", the two Prime Ministers affirmed that this is the time for Vietnam and Sweden to renew their relations and aim to elevate them to a new level.
The two leaders agreed that the two countries need to increase contacts and delegation exchanges at all levels, especially at high levels and people-to-people exchanges to enhance political trust and mutual understanding, creating a favorable premise for expanding cooperation in other fields.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that, on the basis of good political relations, the two countries need to strengthen defense and security cooperation, share experiences and views on global issues, especially in the context of rapid and unpredictable world changes.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Sweden and Vietnam are two economies that can support each other when Sweden has strengths in technology, innovation, digital transformation, Vietnam has a workforce, a market of more than 100 million people and is the gateway to a more dynamic and younger market with 700 million people, ASEAN.
In trade and investment cooperation, the two sides affirmed that they will continue to facilitate each country's goods to access each other's markets through the effective implementation of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thereby accessing the EU and ASEAN markets and striving to increase two-way trade turnover to 3 billion USD in the coming time.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Sweden urge the remaining EU member states to soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and support the European Commission to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports.
The Swedish Prime Minister shared that Sweden is very proud that Ericsson Group has been present in Vietnam very early and is accompanying Vietnam in the field of information technology and telecommunications.
On this occasion, the two leaders agreed to upgrade their relationship to a Sectoral Strategic Partnership in the fields of science - technology and innovation and agreed to promote cooperation in the fields of innovation, high technology, nuclear energy, semiconductors, green transformation, digital transformation... to strengthen training linkages, especially training high-quality human resources.
The Prime Minister called on Swedish enterprises to increase investment in areas with strengths and in line with Vietnam's development orientation such as innovation, green economy, digital economy and circular economy, renewable energy, urban planning, etc.
