Vietnamese National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man met Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Hanoi to discuss stronger bilateral ties and parliamentary cooperation.
The meeting took place during the Swiss president’s official visit to Vietnam on October 17-18, as the two countries mark 55 years of diplomatic relations.
Man welcomed the results of Parmelin’s talks with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President, and Prime Minister Le Minh Hung. He affirmed Vietnam’s support for closer parliamentary ties to help implement high-level agreements.
Man outlined Vietnam’s efforts to improve its legal framework and competitiveness and called on Switzerland to speed up ratification of the newly signed free trade agreement between Vietnam and EFTA member states.
He encouraged Swiss investment in Vietnam’s infrastructure and financial markets and sought Swiss experience in international financial centres, green finance and financial technology.
On science, technology and innovation, Man called for greater support for Vietnamese enterprises, technology transfer, and cooperation in biotechnology, green energy, the digital economy and high-quality agriculture. He also called for wider cultural and educational ties, more scholarships for Vietnamese students and easier visa procedures to support tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
Man proposed more exchanges between the two legislatures, their committees, friendship groups, women lawmakers and young legislators. He also called for sharing experience in building a rule-of-law state and improving legislation on digital assets and the energy transition.
He hoped the two sides would work more closely through the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting, and asked Parmelin to convey an invitation for Swiss Parliament leaders to visit Vietnam.
Parmelin said Switzerland attaches great importance to its relations with Vietnam and sees potential for further cooperation. He called for the Comprehensive Partnership framework to become concrete joint projects and asked Vietnam to share its cooperation priorities.
He welcomed bilateral trade growth and said the Vietnam-EFTA free trade agreement would give new momentum to cooperation. He said it demonstrated a commitment to free trade and opened mutually beneficial business opportunities.
Parmelin stressed the importance of protecting intellectual property rights, including geographical indications. He said strong protection helps Switzerland remain among the world’s leading innovators and encourages research and development investment.
Parmelin expressed interest in cooperation with Vietnam in clean energy, transport and vocational training. He proposed joint research and development of artificial intelligence applications and invited Vietnamese leaders to the AI Summit in Geneva in June 2027.
The two leaders agreed to use parliamentary cooperation to implement high-level agreements by linking legislative exchanges with oversight. They stressed the need to turn cooperation priorities into concrete results for the people and businesses of both countries.
Sources: Viet Nam News
