PM meets foreign leaders on sidelines of WEF

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and President of Switzerland Ueli Maurer meet in Davos on January 25, 2019.

At the meeting with the Swiss President, Phuc asserted that Vietnam always attaches importance to consolidating and strengthening its ties with Switzerland.

He expressed thanks to Switzerland for supporting Vietnam to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, and for committing to granting US$90 million in official development assistance for the Southeast Asian country in the 2017-2020 period.

The two leaders agreed to enhance close coordination at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations.

The Vietnamese leader expected to welcome more Swiss investors, especially those operating in finance-banking, insurance, manufacturing, pharmacy, and tourism.

He expressed his desire that Switzerland and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) would have a flexible and appropriate approach to soon approve the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Association, thus meeting the expectations of the two sides’ business communities.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (left) meets Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in Davos on January 25, 2019.

During the meeting with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, Phuc spoke highly of positive developments in the bilateral ties, especially within the framework of the Strategic Partnership on climate change adaptation and water management and the Strategic Partnership on sustainable agriculture and food security.

Vietnam always treasures the assistance of the Netherlands in fields of environment, education, and agriculture, he affirmed, hoping that the Netherlands will continue assisting the country with new programs.

He asked the Netherlands to boost early signing and ratification of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement (EVFTA), and support peace, stability, freedom, security and safety of aviation and navigation in the East Sea.

At their meeting with Czech PM Andrej Babis, the two leaders expressed their delight on the growing bilateral ties, confirming to enhance the implementation of the signed agreements on economy, trade, culture, education, and science.

Phuc thanked the Government of the Czech Republic for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to integrate into the local society, making practical contributions to the country’s socio-economic development.

He hoped that the Czech Republic would continue accelerating the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the EU and the signing of EVFTA.

Phuc also called for the Czech Republic’s support for Vietnam to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in the tenure 2020-2021.

The Czech Republic attaches importance to consolidating and developing the traditional friendship and cooperation with Vietnam, said Andrej Babis, asserting that the Czech Government continues creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese community and businesses in the Czech Republic.

The same day, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc also held working sessions with executives of leading international groups in finance and infrastructure such as Visa, Generali, Bank Julius Baer, the Development Bank of Japan, former WEF Managing Director Philipp Rösler and leading investors from Switzerland.

At these meetings, the Vietnamese PM briefed about recent developments in Vietnam, confirming the Government’s efforts to build an open and friendly business environment through regular dialogues with investors and unleashing the development potential of private sector.