Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Benjamin Dousa, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

At the meeting, the Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Sweden; he believes that Minister Benjamin Dousa's visit to Vietnam will contribute to promoting cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh conveyed the invitations to visit Vietnam from General Secretary To Lam and President Luong Cuong to the King of Sweden, and from National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. The Prime Minister also invited the Swedish Prime Minister to visit Vietnam soon.

Recalling the profound memories in the relationship between Vietnam and Sweden; especially the sentiments of the Swedish people expressed through the film "Victoria Vietnam" recently presented by Sweden on the occasion of our country celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day, the Prime Minister affirmed that the State and people of Vietnam always remember, respect and are grateful for the valuable, pure and sincere support and assistance that Sweden has given to Vietnam in the past struggle for independence and national reunification as well as in the cause of construction, development and international integration today.

According to the Prime Minister, Sweden is the country that provides the largest non-refundable aid to Vietnam, reaching 3 billion USD; trains many officials and experts and helps Vietnam build many meaningful projects for the people such as Bai Bang Paper Factory, National Children's Hospital (Hanoi), Uong Bi Hospital (Quang Ninh), making a very important contribution to Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Sweden is an important and reliable partner of Vietnam in the European Union (EU), with trade turnover between the two countries growing positively, reaching 1.5 billion USD in 2024, an increase of 15% compared to 2023; he said that this figure is still modest compared to the potential and good political relations between the two countries.

In the context of many difficulties in world trade, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides increase delegation exchanges and contacts at all levels, especially at high levels, to create momentum to promote cooperation in the coming time, especially in the fields of trade - investment, green transformation, digital transformation, strategic infrastructure such as railways, airports, seaports, environmental protection, climate change response, health care, education, science - technology, etc.

The Prime Minister agreed that the two sides should cooperate and facilitate the penetration of each side's goods into each other's markets, especially agricultural products. The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam is ready to act as a gateway for Swedish goods to enter ASEAN and suggested that Sweden act as a gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter the Northern European market, in order to achieve the common goal of sustainable development.

The Prime Minister welcomed Swedish businesses to increase investment in Vietnam in areas where Sweden has strengths and is suitable for Vietnam's development orientation such as digital economy, infrastructure, information and communication technology, etc.

The Prime Minister assessed that the two countries have many similarities in development perspectives, especially in social security policies, reducing the gap between rich and poor, taking people as the center, development goals and motivations, leaving no one behind; Vietnam is referring to Sweden's experience in housing construction policies for workers, developing cultural industries, and hopes to promote exchanges between the two countries' young generations.

Minister Benjamin Dousa thanked the Prime Minister for taking the time to meet him; expressed his impression of the rapid and strong socio-economic development of Vietnam, a country with stable politics, a peaceful, cooperative and developing environment, especially the growth rate of over 7% in 2024, the growth target of 8% in 2025 and double-digit growth in the following years. He affirmed that Sweden is a reliable and practical partner of Vietnam, and the Swedish people always love Vietnam.

Minister Benjamin Dousa said that one of the motivations for his visit to Vietnam this time is that in Sweden as well as in the world, everyone mentions Vietnam with sympathy. He thanked the Prime Minister for his interest and support for the relationship between the two countries; emphasizing that Sweden wishes to promote cooperation with Vietnam in all fields. Many Swedish enterprises are interested in and wish to cooperate with Vietnam and have a long-term investment strategy in Vietnam.

The Minister also agreed with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's assessment that the two sides still have much room for cooperation and need to coordinate to promote the development of bilateral relations to a new level. The Minister pledged to discuss with the remaining EU member countries to soon ratify the EVIPA Agreement as well as with the European Commission (EC) on the proposal to remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-tiep-bo-truong-hop-tac-phat-trien-quoc-te-va-ngoai-thuong-thuy-dien-702023.html