Dressed casually, Haas appeared to enjoy a relaxed afternoon exploring the pedestrian streets surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake, one of Hanoi's best-known landmarks.

She completed a full circuit of the lake, setting off from her hotel on Ngo Quyen Street and walking along Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Thai To and Hang Khay streets.

While standing on the historic The Huc Bridge, the Prime Minister learned about several of the lake's cultural landmarks, including Turtle Tower, the Pen Tower, the Ink Slab and Ngoc Son Temple. She also heard stories about the lake's legendary turtle and the folklore behind its name, which means "Lake of the Returned Sword."

The cool autumn weather brought large crowds of Hanoi residents and international visitors to the lakeside pedestrian zone, where people gathered to stroll, sightsee and enjoy the weekend atmosphere.

After visiting Ngoc Son Temple and taking in the scenery around the lake, Haas stopped at the famous Trang Tien ice cream shop on the street of the same name.

She personally paid for ice cream for herself and members of her delegation, choosing from local favorites including young green rice, chocolate, vanilla and mung bean flavors.

Later that afternoon, Vietnam's Party General Secretary and President To Lam received the Liechtenstein Prime Minister for talks focused on strengthening bilateral relations.

To Lam described the visit, together with the signing of a double taxation avoidance agreement between Vietnam and Liechtenstein and a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), as important milestones that would lay the groundwork for deeper bilateral cooperation.

He praised Liechtenstein's development achievements, highlighting its position as the country with the world's highest per capita income, strong GDP growth and competitive strengths in high-tech manufacturing, financial services, banking and innovation.

Haas said she was honored to become the first Prime Minister of Liechtenstein to visit Vietnam.

She spoke warmly of Vietnam's natural beauty and hospitality, congratulating the country on its growing prosperity and increasingly developed industrial and economic sectors under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The Prime Minister also expressed admiration for Vietnam's rising regional influence and standing, describing it as one of the region's fastest-developing economies.

She emphasized that closer political relations would provide fresh momentum for economic cooperation, encouraging businesses from both countries to explore opportunities and expand trade and investment.

Haas also expressed interest in learning from Vietnam's development experience.

Liechtenstein regards Vietnam as an important partner in Southeast Asia and hopes to further strengthen long-term cooperation in economics, trade and investment.

The Prime Minister voiced confidence that the two newly signed agreements would provide a solid foundation for expanding bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest.

She also affirmed Liechtenstein's readiness to share its approaches and development models for optimizing production capacity and workforce productivity, which have helped the country's economy achieve high levels of efficiency.

During their meeting, the two leaders agreed to increase exchanges and contacts at all levels, including high-level visits, while broadening cooperation through various channels to strengthen political trust.

They also agreed to build on the complementary strengths of their economies and identify new opportunities for economic cooperation.

To Lam called for both sides to work closely to complete the necessary procedures for the Vietnam-EFTA Free Trade Agreement to enter into force as soon as possible.

He also proposed stronger business connections, greater market access for each other's products and increased investment by Liechtenstein companies in Vietnam, particularly in green finance, high technology, precision engineering, automation and medical equipment.

Both sides agreed on the importance of promoting cultural and artistic exchanges and showcasing their countries and people to deepen mutual understanding between the two nations.

Tran Thuong