Vice President of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Thi Thanh led a delegation on a working visit to Switzerland from September 28 to 30, seeking to deepen parliamentary cooperation and advance bilateral ties.

Vice President of the of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh (left) and First Vice President of the Swiss National Council Katja Christ at their meeting (Photo: VNA)

While there, Thanh held talks with First Vice President of the Swiss National Council Katja Christ, met with Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Tatiana Valovaya, attended a ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day and the 55th anniversary of Vietnam–Switzerland diplomatic relations.

The official had meetings with leaders of the Swiss Party of Labour, the Communist Party of Switzerland, the Switzerland–Vietnam Friendship Association, and Swiss friends.

She also visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland and the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva.

At the talks with the First Vice President of the Swiss National Council in Bern, Thanh affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to its relations with Switzerland, an important partner in Europe, and expressed the wish to further deepen the Comprehensive Partnership on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, she proposed increasing delegation exchanges, sharing experience in lawmaking and policymaking in areas of common concern, and continuing coordination and mutual support at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) and other multilateral parliamentary forums.

The Vietnamese official called for the effective implementation of the Vietnam–Switzerland Comprehensive Partnership and stronger coordination at the UN and regional mechanisms.

She suggested the two sides promote cooperation in science – technology, fintech, international financial centre development, digital finance, blockchain, sustainable finance, security – defence, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Thanh also asked Switzerland to continue creating favourable conditions for the more than 10,000 Vietnamese people living in the country to lead stable lives, integrate successfully and contribute as a bridge between the two countries.

Christ described Thanh's visit as an important milestone in the year marking the 55th anniversary of Vietnam–Switzerland diplomatic ties, saying it will help strengthen political trust, maintain delegation exchanges and reinforce cooperation between the two parliaments.

The host emphasised the importance of enhancing the role of female parliamentarians and encouraging women's participation and contributions to political and parliamentary activities.

She also highlighted the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as a landmark that promises further opportunities for economic, trade and investment links.

The two sides agreed to make effective use of parliamentary cooperation to advance bilateral ties across all fields, while strengthening coordination at multilateral mechanisms, particularly the UN, and upholding multilateralism and respect for international law.

Thanh asked Switzerland to continue supporting the freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Thanh took the occation to invite the First Vice President of the Swiss National Council to pay an official visit to Vietnam, and Christ accepted with the pleasure.

At her meeting with UNOG Director-General Valovaya in Geneva, Thanh affirmed Vietnam's support for the role of the UN, multilateralism, the UN Charter and international law.

She also highlighted the role of parliaments in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and proposed stronger coordination among Vietnam, the UN, the UNOG and the IPU in addressing common global challenges.

Valovaya affirmed the importance of cooperation between the UN and the IPU, stressing that parliamentary cooperation is essential to addressing sustainable development issues.

She thanked Vietnam for its cooperation and engagement in tackling global challenges while praising its coordination with the UN and the contributions by the Vietnamese Permanent Mission in Geneva.

During meetings with leaders of the Swiss Party of Labour and the Communist Party of Switzerland, Thanh appreciated the support extended by Swiss left-wing parties and people to Vietnam.

She called for promoting the traditional friendship and increasing the exchange of information, theory and experience to contribute to relations between their Parties, States, parliaments and peoples.

She briefed the Swiss parties on major orientations following the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country's socio-economic achievements and its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, as well as active and proactive international integration.

Leaders of the Swiss parties spoke highly of Vietnam's socio-economic development and international integration achievements and voiced their desire to step up contacts and experience-sharing with the Communist Party of Vietnam, particularly among young party members.

Meeting President of the Switzerland–Vietnam Friendship Association Anjuska Marija Weil and Swiss friends, Thanh appreciated the organisation's contributions to friendship between the two peoples.

She praised its activities in supporting vulnerable people and victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, upholding the Vietnamese language, promoting Vietnamese culture and strengthening cohesion within the Vietnamese community in Switzerland.

Weil said the association will continue activities related to Vietnam and promote information about the country among the Swiss public.

She also promised its support for the “Binh Minh” Vietnamese language school in Zurich, which has helped preserve the Vietnamese language, maintain cultural identity and connect generations of Vietnamese people in Switzerland.

During her stay, Thanh also visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland and the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva.

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