PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc starts an official visit to Norway on May 24th.Photo: VNA
Situated in northwestern Europe, with an area of 385,178 square kilometers, Norway is rich in natural resources, especially in energy such as oil and hydroelectricity, fisheries and forests.
Vietnam and Norway set up diplomatic relationship on November 25th, 1971. Like other northern European countries, Norway supported Vietnam’s struggle for national independence. Over the past years, the relationship between the two countries has developed stably. Norway has actively assisted Vietnam in the renewal process and poverty reduction, as well as international integration. The two countries have efficiently cooperated in multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank. High ranking delegations have also been exchanged on the sidelines of international meetings,
In terms of trade and investment, two-way trade turnover in 2018 reached USD363 million. Vietnam mainly exports textile and garment, footwear, wood and cashew nut to Norway, while importing mainly fisheries, machines, devices, tools, spare parts, fertilizer, chemical and iron and steel from Norway. At present, Norway has 41 valid projects capitalized at USD166 million, mainly in wood processing, construction materials, interior decoration, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, information communications, ranking 41st of 130 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
So far Norway has provided USD320 million as non-refundable aid for Vietnam and remains among few countries maintaining ODA for Vietnam.
Norway has started to assist cultural development in Vietnam since 2017 through projects, joint concerts, training courses for pupils, students and artists, library development and musical instrument maintenance.
Additionally, it has provided scholarships to Vietnamese students, supported the training of lecturers and researchers from Vietnamese universities and institutes, while training Vietnamese cadres in such areas as peacekeeping, assisting Vietnam to build boarding schools for ethnic minority children in Dien Bien, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces, and co-sponsoring the project on educating disadvantaged children and drafting ethnic minority language dictionaries.
There are over 20,000 Vietnamese people in Norway, who play an important part in boosting the bilateral relationship.
The visit to Norway by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is expected to deepen the bilateral relationship and boost cooperation in diverse areas, including politics, trade, investment, education and training, culture and tourism./.