ID :
14542
Fri, 08/01/2008 - 15:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/14542
The shortlink copeid
Vietnam, Switzerland gear up for boosted ties
Hanoi (VNA) - Swiss President Pascal Couchepin will pay an official friendship visit to Vietnam from August 3-6 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet to boost friendship andmultifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
The visit, the first by a Swiss president, will take place at a time when the two countries' relations have developed in many areas, particularly in development cooperation, investment and trade.
Switzerland is one of the first developed countries to have set updiplomatic ties with Vietnam (October 1971). So far, the two countries have signed framework agreements on bilateral cooperation.
Relations between the two sides have been strengthened continuously through the exchange of visits by high-ranking delegations, with the latest visits being made by Swiss State Secretary of Economic Affairs David Syz in 2001, then Vice President-cum-Economic Minister Pascal Couchepin in 2002 and Economic Minister Doris Leuthard in 2007.
In 2005, the then National Assembly Chairman, Nguyen Van An, paid anofficial visit to Switzerland . He was followed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who visited the European country to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos last year.
Switzerland considers Vietnam its important partner in Southeast Asia .
Since 1993, the Government of Switzerland included Vietnam into its list of prioritised annual official development assistance (ODA) recipients.
So far, Switzerland has disbursed 95.6 million USD in ODA for Vietnam , including a non-refundable aid of 50 million USD.
Among the countries in the Mekong region, Vietnam has been granted the largest amount of Swiss ODA, making up 65 percent of the total sum the European country earmarked for the region.
Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries reached 1.25 billion USD, representing a sharp increase as compared with the level of 781 million USD made a year earlier.
In the first six months of this year, the figure was 1.84 billion USD, exceeding the total sum recorded in 2007, marking a strong growth in economic-trade relations between the two countries.
Switzerland has so far poured around 720 million USD into 50 projects in Vietnam , ranking fifth among European investors and 19 th among 81 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.
Although Vietnam and Switzerland are yet to reach an official cooperation agreement on science and education, the two nations have co-ordinated in conducting various related programmes. Currently, around 150 Vietnamese students are studying in Switzerland.-Enditem
The visit, the first by a Swiss president, will take place at a time when the two countries' relations have developed in many areas, particularly in development cooperation, investment and trade.
Switzerland is one of the first developed countries to have set updiplomatic ties with Vietnam (October 1971). So far, the two countries have signed framework agreements on bilateral cooperation.
Relations between the two sides have been strengthened continuously through the exchange of visits by high-ranking delegations, with the latest visits being made by Swiss State Secretary of Economic Affairs David Syz in 2001, then Vice President-cum-Economic Minister Pascal Couchepin in 2002 and Economic Minister Doris Leuthard in 2007.
In 2005, the then National Assembly Chairman, Nguyen Van An, paid anofficial visit to Switzerland . He was followed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who visited the European country to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos last year.
Switzerland considers Vietnam its important partner in Southeast Asia .
Since 1993, the Government of Switzerland included Vietnam into its list of prioritised annual official development assistance (ODA) recipients.
So far, Switzerland has disbursed 95.6 million USD in ODA for Vietnam , including a non-refundable aid of 50 million USD.
Among the countries in the Mekong region, Vietnam has been granted the largest amount of Swiss ODA, making up 65 percent of the total sum the European country earmarked for the region.
Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries reached 1.25 billion USD, representing a sharp increase as compared with the level of 781 million USD made a year earlier.
In the first six months of this year, the figure was 1.84 billion USD, exceeding the total sum recorded in 2007, marking a strong growth in economic-trade relations between the two countries.
Switzerland has so far poured around 720 million USD into 50 projects in Vietnam , ranking fifth among European investors and 19 th among 81 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.
Although Vietnam and Switzerland are yet to reach an official cooperation agreement on science and education, the two nations have co-ordinated in conducting various related programmes. Currently, around 150 Vietnamese students are studying in Switzerland.-Enditem
