At the invitation of Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis during his official visit to Vietnam during August 4 to 6, 2021, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), on behalf of the Government of Vietnam, attended the Celebration of the 730th Anniversary of the National Day of the Swiss Confederation (1291-2021) and the 50th Anniversary of Vietnam-Switzerland diplomatic ties (1971-2021).
Speaking at the Celebration, on behalf of the Government of Vietnam, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong congratulated the Government and the people of the Swiss Confederation on the occasion of the Swiss National Day, emphasizing that, after 730 years of its establishment, Switzerland has risen to become a country with lots of extraordinary achievements in economic development as well as in the quality of life.
Expressing her pleasure to see Vietnam-Switzerland relations growing more positively, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to the consolidation and enhancement of the traditional friendship and partnership with Switzerland. It is noted that the bilateral cooperation has developed positively in all areas of politics-diplomacy, trade-investment as well as development cooperation. According to Governor Nguyen Thi Hong, with 177 FDI projects in Vietnam and a total registered capital of about 1.9 billion USD, currently Switzerland ranks 20th among 140 countries and territories with FDI operations in Vietnam. Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total two-way trade volume in 2020 between the two countries still reached 863.5 million USD, allowing both sides to come up with optimistic outlooks of the future two-way trade picture when the pandemic has been controlled and the global economy has recovered.
Mentioning the bilateral cooperation in the banking sector, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong thanked the Swiss Government for having supported the Vietnamese banking industry over the past years through its both direct and indirect, through co-sponsorship schemes, assistance for the technical assistance programs and projects focusing on banking reforms and capacity building. The SBV Governor also expressed her beliefs that the bilateral banking cooperation would continue to be the highlight in the overall cooperative relationship between the two countries in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great disruptions to the global economy and politics; along with other non-conventional security threats such as climate change, diseases, etc. However, this is also an opportunity to bring countries together and to promote joint efforts to solve global problems. With the support of all international friends, including Switzerland, Vietnam has been putting the best efforts to fight the pandemic. Governor Nguyen Thi Hong expressed her hope that there would be more high-level delegations of the Swiss Government, as well as friends from Switzerland visiting Vietnam, and there would be more Swiss people developing a feeling of connection with Vietnam.
Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis delivers his remarks at the Celebration
Speaking about the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Switzerland over the past 50 years, Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis emphasized that the official start of the two countries' joint journey was in 1971, when Switzerland was one of the few first Western countries to establish bilateral relationship with Vietnam. However, the two countries had shared a much longer history of cooperation than that. “A century ago, Vietnam became a destination for Swiss merchants, scientists and explorers who loved adventure,” he said, adding that for many Swiss people, Vietnam has become their second homeland. “One of the most well-known Swiss in Vietnam was Mr. Alexandre Yersin the scientist, the one who, in the late 19th century, left Switzerland for Vietnam, where he lived, did scientific research, and he died in Nha Trang in 1943.”
SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong presents a token of friendship to Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis
Emphasizing the spirit of openness and the willingness to take challenges are the values that have brought Vietnam and Switzerland closer together over the past several decades, Swiss Vice President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam on this occasion. He also affirmed that although the world has changed a lot, the close ties between the two countries remain intact and have been promoted through the exchange visits and the growing trade relationship.
On this special occasion, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has provided donation for the design and construction of the "Geneva Conference Room", which is located in the new building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. This will be one of the venues for the top-notch training, teaching & learning activities, as well as research on international relations. The new conference room is named after Geneva, the Swiss city which is home to several with United Nations agencies, in order to remind us of the international spirit of openness and exchanges, as reflected in the good cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Switzerland.
VA