Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen stated that Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in October 1971. Over the past 50 years, relations between the two countries have witnessed many positive developments.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen, Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, always appreciates the support of the Swiss Government through Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects on poverty reduction, environmental protection, administrative reform, agriculture , education and training, etc., and always creates conditions for Vietnam to enjoy preferential trade status.
Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen met with Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass on April 17.
Regarding the relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and Switzerland, Ho Chi Minh City is the economic , cultural, and scientific-technological center of Vietnam, contributing 22% of the national GDP and 27% of the national budget. With significant potential for development, the city is also aiming to become a regional economic, financial, commercial, scientific-technological, and cultural hub. Ho Chi Minh City is always actively implementing cooperation activities with Switzerland, especially in the economic field.
In 2022, bilateral trade reached nearly $190 million. Regarding investment, as of March 2023, Switzerland had 117 investment projects in Ho Chi Minh City with a total investment capital of over $208 million, ranking 20th out of 119 countries and territories investing in Ho Chi Minh City.
Secretary Nguyen Van Nen stated: "We hope to continue promoting cooperation with Switzerland in areas where Switzerland has strengths, such as digital transformation, finance, banking, insurance, smart cities, education and training, and healthcare…" Through the Ambassador, Secretary Nguyen Van Nen extended an invitation to Swiss companies to explore investment opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City in these areas.
The Secretary expressed his wish for the Ambassador to promote exchanges of delegations at all levels so that the two sides can exchange and cooperate more frequently. In particular, given Switzerland's important role within the EFTA bloc (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), the Secretary hoped that Switzerland would work strongly with Vietnam to expedite the conclusion of negotiations and the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EFTA countries, creating a favorable framework for economic and trade development between the countries.
Swiss Ambassador Thomas Gass presented a commemorative gift to Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen on April 17.
Also at the meeting, Ambassador Thomas Gass stated that Switzerland views the relationship between the two countries as a high-quality and long-term partnership. According to the Ambassador, trade exchanges have continuously developed in recent years, but both sides can still develop further.
The Ambassador expressed his desire to work with Ho Chi Minh City to help companies access cooperation in renewable energy and solar energy projects. The Ambassador noted that Swiss companies are supporting the training of Vietnamese human resources, particularly in the field of information technology. He hoped to bring even more investment delegations to Vietnam.
The Ambassador highly appreciated Vietnam's impressive economic development and suggested including Switzerland in the list of countries whose citizens are exempt from visa requirements to enter Vietnam. According to the Ambassador, Swiss President Alain Berset is expected to visit Vietnam next June.
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