Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh has expressed her hope for stronger cooperation in all spheres with Finland while meeting Finnish officials and entrepreneurs during her official visit to this European country from October 16-19.

Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh (L) ​meets with Finnish Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen on October 18

At a reception for Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkanen on October 17, Vice President Thinh briefed on Vietnam’s recent socio-economic achievements and thanked the Finnish Government for providing Vietnam with official development assistance (ODA), which has greatly helped with the country’s development and international integration.

The Vice President asked the Finnish Government to continue assisting Vietnam, especially in the fields that both countries prioritise.

In addition to information technology and education-training, the two nations should also enhance cooperation and share experience in finance, tourism, and small- and medium-sized enterprises support, she added.

Minister Mykkanen described Vietnam as a bright model of poverty reduction, improvement of people’s living conditions and national industrialisation, adding that it is also a prime example of Finland’s development cooperation with other countries.

He highly evaluated the bilateral fine cooperation and the progress in Vietnam-EU partnership, particularly the conclusion of negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. He said the signing of the FTA will create a favourable legal basis for boosting Vietnam’s trade and investment ties with the EU, including Finland.

In the time ahead, Finland will prioritise economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam. Therefore, Vietnam should continue providing optimal conditions for Finnish firms to invest, transfer technology and do long-term business, especially in Finland’s strong fields like clean technology, information and communications technology, water management, agriculture and forestry, he added.

Meeting with Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen on October 18, Vice President Thinh expressed her delight at the development of bilateral relations, especially in education-training which can be seen through the singing of 17 memoranda of understanding on cooperation between Vietnamese and Finnish universities.

The potential for cultural and educational cooperation remains huge, she said, voicing her hope for stronger partnership in these spheres. She also called on Finland to grant more scholarships to Vietnamese postgraduates, increase training courses co-organised by the countries’ educational establishments, and help improve the quality of Vietnam’s educational sector.

While applauding the bilateral education-training cooperation, Minister Grahn-Laasonen said it will remain a priority of the Finnish Government in the time ahead.

As part of her visit, Vice President Thinh also received representatives of Finnish agencies and businesses, including the Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Meteorological Institute under the Ministry of Transport and Communications, elevator and escalator producer Kone, and Nokia Corporation.

VNA