Stockholm (VNA) –🦩 Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan held talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on November 11, as part of her on-going official visit to the West European country, during which the two sides agreed to further deepen bilateral relations in the time to come.

The Swedish PM congratulated Vietnam on its remarkable achievements in socio-economic development and international integration in recent years, stating that Sweden treasures its relations with Vietnam. He expressed a desire to further boost cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, climate change response, and sustainable development. For her part, Xuan affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to strengthening and expanding its traditional friendship and good cooperation with Sweden. She thanked the Swedish government and people for their valuable and effective support for Vietnam in the struggle for national liberation in the part, and socio-economic development and international integration efforts at present. Regarding economic cooperation, the Vietnamese leader expressed her appreciation for Sweden - one of the first countries that ratified the new-generation EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) at an early date. She suggested the Swedish government continue to encourage businesses to increase their investment in Vietnam in sectors where it has strengths and Vietnam has demands, such as renewable energy, digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, and infrastructure, especially helping Vietnam shift to a new economic growth model that integrates innovation. The two expressed satisfaction at the positive development of Vietnam-Sweden relations over the past more than half a century since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties. They agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations by enhancing delegation exchanges at all levels and continuing their close coordination at regional and international forums such as the UN and the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework. They also emphasised the need to expand collaboration in areas such as innovation, science and technology, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, thus enhancing mutual understanding, tightening the friendship between the peoples, and contributing to elevating the bilateral relations to a new height. Ulf affirmed that the Swedish government will continue facilitating the Vietnamese community’s integration into the Swedish society, enabling them to contribute to the host country’s prosperity and cultural diversity, as well as promoting their role as a bridge fostering friendship and good cooperation between the two countries. In their exchange of viewpoints on international and regional issues of mutual concern, the two sides showed worries over escalating tensions in several global hotspots. They emphasised their support for the search of sustainable and long-term peaceful solutions to conflicts, based on respect for basic principles of the UN Charter and international law. Xuan took the occasion to convey Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s invitation to Ulf for an official visit to Vietnam in the coming time. Before the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden./.