VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said that Vietnam regrets the Swedish government’s decision to close its embassy in Hanoi next year but Vietnam hopes that the two countries will continue strengthening bilateral cooperation.

On December 22, the Swedish government announced that during 2011 due to recent budget cuts,  it would close five embassies around the world,  in Hanoi, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Brussels (Belgium), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Luanda (Angola).

"This painful decision is a consequence of the recent decision of the Riksdag to cut funding to the Government Offices by SEK 300 million (over $43 million)," said Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt on www.sweden.gov.se.

According to newswire http://www.swedishwire.com, last year the Swedish government decided to close its embassy in Colombo and the consulates-general in Kaliningrad, Canton, Los Angeles and New York.

The website of the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi on December 23 posted the above announcement and the Swedish Ambassador’s message which confirmed that Sweden will try its best to maintain and develop its 40-year cooperative relationship with Vietnam.

The spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Phuong Nga, on December 23 said that the Vietnamese government regrets the Swedish government’s decision to close down its embassy in Hanoi and other countries due to budget difficulties and Vietnam would create favorable conditions for Sweden to re-open the embassy.

The Vietnamese government always attaches great importance to the traditional and friendly relation between the two countries, she said.

“We hope that both sides will continue to boost bilateral cooperation in the future through appropriate measures and forms to meet the two countries’ aspirations and benefits,” she stressed.

The same day, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Staffan Herrström told VietNamNet that the decision to close down the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam will not influence the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Sweden.

He said that the embassy will still grant visas until the time the embassy closes down in 2011.

He said that the people who want to visit Sweden can apply for visa through the countries in Shengen block.

Sweden will grant visas through a representative country, perhaps in Northern Europe.

X.Linh