called on the Vietnamese community in Switzerland to make more contributions to the homeland as well as cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN, WTO and other international organisations in Geneva,

The ambassador made the appeal during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2) in Geneva on September 26.

Mai recalled the historic day when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam 75 years ago, and highlighted the achievements Vietnam has recorded recently, especially amidst COVID-19, with GDP growing 2 percent in the first half of this year.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan briefed the meeting on cooperation outcomes between the two countries, saying Switzerland is an important economic partner of Vietnam.

Two-way trade increased from 1.5 billion CHF (1.6 billion USD) in 2015 to 3.6 billion CHF last year, she said, adding that nearly 100 Swiss firms, including Nestle, Novatis, Roche, Holcim and ABB, have invested in Vietnam.

Lan stressed that many Vietnamese scientists, businesspeople and intellectuals are working in spearheads sectors in the host country such as physics, information technology, AI and blockchain.

At the ceremony in Australia (Photo: VNA)

The same day, a similar event was held in Australia during which Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Thuy Nga reviewed the political-economic situation in the homeland in the first nine months of this year, notably the country’s success in containing COVID-19.

She said the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia has coordinated with the Vietnamese Consulates General in Sydney and Perth and Vietnamese airlines to organise flights bringing home more than 3,000 Vietnamese.

Regarding the relations between Vietnam and Australia, the ambassador said the two counties share common interests, vision and strategic values, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

Nga expressed her hope that with the support of the two governments and people, the bilateral strategic partnership will grow stronger in the time ahead./.VNA