Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan presents the decision to Dr. Philipp Rosler. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan on October 21 presented a decision to officially appoint Dr. Philipp Rosler - former Deputy Prime Minister of Germany, as the first ever Honorary Consul of Vietnam to Switzerland.

In her speech at the handover ceremony, Ambassador Lan congratulated Dr. Rosler on his new role and emphasised the importance of Switzerland to Vietnam and the potential for cooperation and partnership between the two countries.

Especially, 2021 will mark the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations, and 30 years of development cooperation between the two countries, she said.

In recent years, the Vietnam-Switzerland cooperation has developed strongly, with Switzerland becoming an important trade, investment and economic partner of Vietnam.

At the handover ceremony.

In 2019, two-way trade reached 3.6 billion USD. About 140 Swiss companies including world-class names such as Nestle, ABB, Novartis, Roche, and Holcim, have invest in Vietnam and reaped success with a total investment capital of nearly 2 billion USD.

Switzerland is currently the sixth largest European investor in Vietnam.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Switzerland, Rosler said many Swiss companies want to make field trips to Vietnam to explore business opportunities in the Southeast Asian nation.

Swiss businesses pin high hope on the upcoming visit of Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Switzerland, he said.

At a roundtable on business prospect and opportunities in the field of digital transformation and startup ecosystem in Vietnam which took place after the handover ceremony, representatives from Swiss businesses shared their experience in doing business in the Vietnamese market.

They said that Vietnam is a dynamic country and an open market for foreign investors.

A number of Swiss businesses that have been operating in Vietnam such as Zuellig Pharma and Bellecapital believed that Vietnam's economy will continue to maintain a fast growth rate in the next 10-15 years.

Algerian Ambassador honoured with friendship insignia

Algerian Ambassador to Vietnam Mohamed Berrah (L) receives the “For peace and friendship among nations” insignia.

Algerian Ambassador to Vietnam Mohamed Berrah has been honoured with the “For peace and friendship among nations” insignia for his contribution to promoting the friendship between people of Vietnam and Algeria.

At a ceremony held in Hanoi on October 21, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga said the Vietnam-Algeria friendship and cooperation have flourished during Berrah’s six-year term.

The two sides successfully held the 11th meeting of the InterGovernmental Committee which provides the basis to effectively implement joint activities and cooperation projects.

Bilateral economic and trade relations remain stable despite the difficulties triggered by COVID-19 for the global economy.

Nga spoke highly of the Algerian diplomat’s contributions to enhancing solidarity and people-to-people exchange between the two countries, as he had regularly worked with the Vietnam-Algeria Friendship Association to discuss measures to bolster cooperation, and met with Vietnamese experts who used to work in the African nation.

Of note, he has been working with relevant agencies in Vietnam since early this year to adapt a famous Algerian author’s work on President Ho Chi Minh into a play, in a hope of bringing the warm feeling of Algerian people for their Vietnamese counterparts and for the late President of Vietnam to the Vietnamese audience on the occasion of the 60th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties in 2022.

For his part, the Algerian Ambassador pledged that in any future position, he will continue to contribute to the friendship and cooperation between people of Algeria and Vietnam.

Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in RoK honoured

Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung (L) presents certificate of merit to Honorary Consul General Park Soo-kwan

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (RoK) Nguyen Vu Tung on October 20 presented Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s certificate of merit to Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in the RoK’s Busan-Gyeongnam region Park Soo-kwan in honour of his active and effective contributions to bilateral economic, cultural and educational ties.

At the ceremony, Park pledged to do his best to continue contributing to the Vietnam – RoK relationship.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, Park actively joined in pandemic prevention and control, and offered suggestions to the Vietnamese Government, together with the RoK business community, to ensure the dual goal of fighting the pandemic and restoring economic development.

In his capacity as Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in Busan-Gyeongnam region since 2010, he has worked closely with the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK to bolster bilateral trategic cooperative partnership, especially friendly ties between twin cities of Ho Chi Minh and Busan via trade-investment promotion and exchange activities, and sharing of information on culture and education.

He also supported activities of the Vietnamese community in the RoK. Notably, Vietnam received martime training ship Hannara donated by the RoK Government, thanks to his assistance.

Earlier in 2021, Park was also awarded with the Friendship Order of the Vietnamese State./. 

Source: VNA