On 28 November 2024, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha had a meeting with the mission from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) led by Mr. Jürg Vollenweider, Head of Macroeconomic Support, to discuss the bilateral cooperation between the two agencies.
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On behalf of the SBV, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha expressed his gratitude for SECO’s comprehensive support to the development of Vietnam’s financial sector in general and the SBV in particular, and also highly complimented the close cooperation between the two agencies, with the mutual goal of ensuring the implementation progress and the effectiveness of the technical assistance projects.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha also mentioned that since the early 2000s, the Swiss Government has been supporting the development of the Vietnamese banking sector through a series of projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of the SBV, as well as the commercial banking system. Among those, SECO has been one of the long-term donors, not only providing financial support but also offering its continuous assistance, sharing a lot of practical experience and knowledge from the top notch experts.
The Head of the SECO Mission expressed his thanks to the leaders and representatives of the relevant SBV entities for taking the time to meet the Mission, and reaffirmed that Vietnam is one of SECO’s priority countries for support. Mr. Vollenweider also expressed his wish to learn about the challenges and difficulties encountered during the implementation of the current projects, with the aim to inform and prepare for future technical assistance.
Mr. Jürg Vollenweider, Head of SECO’s Macroeconomic Support, speaks at the meeting
Both sides then reviewed the implementation of the technical assistance projects funded by SECO, which are being implemented by the SBV, including the Swiss BET Project (Swiss Bank Executives Training Program); ‘Expanding Inclusive and Climate Finance’ Project (support through the Asian Development Bank - ADB); and ‘Vietnam: Strengthening Banking Sector Soundness and Development (BSSD)’ Project (support through the World Bank - WB).
On this occasion, the representatives from several SBV entities also discussed specifically with the guests on how to enhance the effectiveness of the upcoming key projects, focusing on strengthening the capacity for the SBV’s officers and improving the quality of the human resources. This includes the second phase of the Financial Sector Stability Review (FSSR) project supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will focus on the recommendations made by the IMF in the report following the first phase of the TA project.
The SBV Deputy Governor hoped that SECO would continue to support the SBV in the coming time, contributing further to the economic development of Vietnam and the realisation of the common goals for the cooperation between the two countries.
HP