Speaking at the event, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Head of the Mission in Geneva, highlighted Vietnam’s development over the past 75 years. She said that Vietnam has now become a friend and reliable partner of the international community, and an active and responsible member of the UN, ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, the Francophonie, and other international organizations.
Vietnam is doing well in its role as ASEAN Chair and member of the UN Security Council. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam maintains its 42nd place among 131 economies in terms of global innovation index, and tops the 29 countries with low middle income, ranking 3rd in Southeast Asia. Vietnam achieved a GDP growth rate of 2% in the first half of this year, she said.
The ambassador lauded overseas Vietnamese people’s contribution to the local country and their efforts to preserve and promote Vietnamese culture in Switzerland.
Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai speaking at the event (Photo: VNA)
At the same time, she expressed her wish that the Vietnamese community would continue to join hands to contribute their emotion, intellect and material to the homeland of Vietnam to bring the country to further development, as well as enhance cooperation between Vietnamese partners and the authorities, businesses, training and research institutions in Geneva and neighboring states, and enhancing people-to-people exchanges.
At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan said that relations between Vietnam and Switzerland have developed greatly in recent years.
The two sides regularly exchange high-level delegations, especially on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The two sides have agreed to support each other's candidacy for many important international organizations, including the United Nations Security Council.
Switzerland is an important economic partner for Vietnam. Regarding trade, the total import-export turnover between the two countries has grown rapidly and steadily, from CHF 1.5 billion in 2015 to CHF 3.6 billion in 2019.
In terms of investment, there are nearly 100 Swiss enterprises investing in Vietnam, including large corporations such as Nestlé, Novatis, Roche, Holcim and ABB.
In 2021, it will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations establishment and mark the 30th anniversary of Switzerland's development cooperation program for Vietnam.
"In Switzerland, we are really proud because the Vietnamese community converges many prestigious scientists, entrepreneurs and intellectuals working in various key science and technology fields, such as physics, information technology, artificial intelligence, blockchain,” she emphasized.
The embassy is also particularly impressed by the warm feelings and close connections of expatriates in Switzerland with many meaningful and practical activities towards the homeland, such as attending the Homeland Spring program, Youth Summer Camp, and organizing the Solidarity Day with Vietnam every year. They always enthusiastically respond to charity and humanitarian activities to share difficulties with domestic people, and with victims of Agent Orange, natural disasters and floods.
At the ceremony, the delegates watched a documentary film about important milestones over the past 75 years of construction and development of Vietnam.
Although Geneva is one of the areas severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tradition of celebrating Vietnam’s National Day together at the Mission's headquarters is still maintained. This is also an opportunity for young Vietnamese generations living in Switzerland to review the great events in the country's history, commemorate the beloved Uncle Ho, and preserve the good cultural traditions of the Vietnamese nation./.