Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits Sweden: Determined to elevate relations to new heights, showing gratitude to loyal friends of nearly 6 decades

On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife's upcoming official visit to Sweden, Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Tuan shared with The Gioi va Viet Nam Newspaper about the focus of the visit and the potential for cooperation between the two countries in the new context.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the occasion of attending the World Climate Action Summit within the framework of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in December 2023. (Source: VGP)

Ambassador, please tell us the main significance of this visit to Sweden by the Vietnamese high-ranking leader?

This is the highest-level visit of a Vietnamese leader to Sweden since 2019, and also the first visit to a Nordic country by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as head of the Vietnamese Government. It is an important political and foreign affairs event between the two countries, of strategic significance to Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic relations.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Tuan. (Photo: BC)

During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will have many meetings with senior leaders of Sweden, receive a number of typical Swedish enterprises that are investing and doing business in Vietnam, meet a number of researchers and experts to share major policies of the Vietnamese Government, and meet and talk with the Vietnamese community in Sweden.

In addition to official activities, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will also have people-to-people diplomacy activities to express gratitude to Swedish friends who have helped Vietnam in the past as well as made positive contributions to the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden over the past nearly six decades.

It is expected that during the working sessions with the Swedish high-ranking leaders, the two sides will focus on exchanging measures to strengthen extensive and comprehensive cooperation in the fields of politics - diplomacy, economics - trade - investment, science - technology, innovation, digital transformation, education - training, culture - sports - tourism, sustainable development and promoting people-to-people exchange, contributing to further deepening existing cooperation platforms, exploiting more potential cooperation areas, opening up new opportunities for bilateral cooperation. The two sides are also expected to exchange and share views on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Sweden this time promises to bring breakthrough development cooperation momentum to the relationship between the two countries in many fields.

For the Vietnamese people, talking about Sweden means talking about the first Western country to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and the wholehearted support that the Swedish people have given Vietnam over the past 6 decades. Now, facing new development milestones and a new era, how should the two countries create more "symbols" of cooperation, Ambassador?

With a history of more than 56 years, Vietnam and Sweden have a very good relationship. As the first Western country to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1969, Sweden is also one of the countries with the strongest movement against the Vietnam War.

From the early 1970s to 2013, Sweden provided Vietnam with non-refundable aid totaling 3.46 billion USD, effectively contributing to Vietnam's post-war reconstruction, poverty reduction, innovation, development and international integration. Since 2013, the relationship between the two countries has shifted to a phase of equal and mutually beneficial partnership. Two-way trade turnover has grown continuously and the two countries currently have many investment projects in each other.

Although the two countries have a long-standing traditional relationship, exchange activities between the two sides, especially in economics - trade - investment, science - technology and innovation, are still quite modest compared to the potential of the two countries.

In the context of the current rapid and unpredictable changes in the international and regional situation, the need for cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden is increasing, requiring the relationship between the two countries to take new steps forward to serve the development needs of each country.

One of the highlights of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit this time is the determination to promote upgrading bilateral relations between the two countries to a new level, in accordance with the needs and strengths of each side.

The documentary "Vietnam's Victory" by Swedish director Bo Öhlén premiered in Vietnam. (Photo: BC)

Sweden is a world leader in combating climate change and protecting the environment, while Vietnam is one of the countries most affected by climate change. How does the Ambassador assess the potential for cooperation between the two countries in this field, both bilaterally and multilaterally?

Sweden is one of the world's leading countries in the fight against climate change, with the Swedish Climate Law of 2017 setting a target of CO₂ neutrality by 2045, ahead of the EU average.

Over 98% of Sweden's electricity comes from renewables and nuclear. The country is also one of the countries that has implemented one of the highest and earliest carbon taxes in the world (around 137 Euros per tonne of CO₂ - applied since 1991).

Sweden is also a major donor to the United Nations Green Climate Fund and regularly takes the initiative in sharing technology, policies, initiatives and funding with developing countries, particularly through organisations such as SIDA.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is one of the countries most severely affected by climate change. Vietnam’s current and long-term development goals are aimed at proactively adapting to climate change and preventing, combating and mitigating natural disasters; at the same time, managing and using natural resources economically, effectively and sustainably.

Therefore, the two countries have a lot of potential for cooperation in this field. Vietnam can take advantage of your experience in law-making, management policies, science and technology and financial resources, through multilateral and bilateral mechanisms to deal with domestic climate change threats.

Ambassador Tran Van Tuan takes a souvenir photo with delegates attending the Vietnam-Sweden Business Forum 2024 in Stockholm. (Source: VNA)

Recently, many Swedish technology companies have chosen Vietnam as an investment destination. On the other hand, Vietnamese companies are also gradually paying more attention to the Swedish market, such as FPT Corporation. Could you please tell us about the current investment climate between the two countries as well as the promising investment areas?

Trade and investment cooperation between the two countries has been quite prosperous in recent times and has positive prospects. In terms of high-level exchanges, Swedish Minister of International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa visited Vietnam in May 2025.

Regarding business activities, the Swedish Syre Group has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Binh Dinh province on the construction of a high-tech polyester recycling plant worth 700 million USD - 1 billion USD. If successfully implemented, this will be Sweden's largest investment project ever in Vietnam. On the Vietnamese side, FPT Group has also opened an office in Gothenburg (2024) and is planning to open another office in Stockholm in the near future.

During Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s upcoming visit to Sweden, many exchange and cooperation activities between businesses will take place. I believe that these positive signals are a strong driving force to promote specific investment projects between businesses of the two countries in the coming time.

Some potential areas where businesses from both sides can soon research investment cooperation include: Digital transformation, infrastructure development, software outsourcing, waste recycling, renewable energy, semiconductors, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, high-quality human resource training, etc.

Thank you very much Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-tham-thuy-dien-quyet-tam-nang-quan-he-len-tam-cao-moi-tri-an-nhung-nguoi-ban-thuy-chung-gan-6-thap-ky-316540.html