Vietnam and Switzerland conclude SwissTrade

On December 16, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) convened the closing conference of the Swiss Trade Policy and Export Promotion Programme (SwissTrade), reviewing its contributions to Vietnam’s trade policy reform and export performance during 2021–2025.

Funded by the Swiss government, the initiative has supported Vietnam in strengthening institutional foundations for trade amid a rapidly changing global environment, with participation from MoIT, SECO, the International Trade Centre, business support organisations (BSOs), and private-sector representatives.

The central achievement of SwissTrade is its support for the formulation of Vietnam’s Export and Import Strategy to 2030, a document expected to guide the country’s long-term trade orientation. The project provided analytical assessments, sector studies, and technical recommendations that enriched the strategic planning process. According to MoIT, this strategy will play an essential role in helping Vietnam diversify export markets, enhance resilience against global disruptions, and align domestic policy with international commitments.

In addition to policy development, SwissTrade has strengthened Vietnam’s capacity for evidence-based and participatory policymaking. The scheme introduced pilot public–private dialogue (PPD) mechanisms that fostered structured engagement between regulators and industry players.

These pilots supported the government’s broader efforts to improve policy transparency under Resolution No.68/NQ-CP and MoIT’s GoGlobal initiative. Lessons drawn from these dialogues provide a foundation for institutionalising PPD as a regular feature of Vietnam’s trade policy cycle.

SwissTrade also made notable contributions at the operational level by enhancing the role of BSOs in supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Through its Innovation and Competitiveness Grants Facility, the project enabled several BSOs to test new service models and digital tools aimed at improving the readiness of SMEs to export.

Examples showcased at the conference included digital labelling solutions aligned with EU regulations and blockchain-based traceability platforms, as well as integrated digital ecosystems that facilitate compliance, branding, and market access for producers.

These initiatives illustrate a broader shift towards more sophisticated SME support services, an area long identified as a bottleneck for Vietnam’s sustainable export growth. By upgrading BSO capacities, SwissTrade has helped build a more responsive and market-driven support system capable of addressing increasingly stringent global requirements around sustainability, transparency, and digital transformation.

SECO representatives praised Vietnam’s progress in strengthening its trade governance capacity and expressed strong interest in continuing bilateral cooperation. Both sides confirmed that discussions on SwissTrade Phase II are underway, with priority areas expected to include green transition, digital trade readiness, and capacity building for compliance with international standards.

The closing conference reaffirmed that SwissTrade has generated multidimensional impact – supporting strategic policy formulation, improving regulatory processes, and enhancing the institutional fabric that underpins export promotion. As Vietnam aims to deepen its participation in global value chains, the partnership with Switzerland is poised to contribute to a more competitive, resilient, and sustainable trade environment.

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