Vietnam always bear in mind the valuable support of the Swedish government and people to the country during its past struggle for national defence and reunification, and the present cause of national construction and development, the minister stressed.
Son noted with pleasure active developments of the relations over the past time, both bilaterally and multilaterally, saying the two sides have favourable conditions to consolidate and expand cooperation, especially in the areas of Vietnam’s priorities and Sweden’s strengths like high-quality personnel development, modern infrastructure construction for sustainable development, institutions and laws, and socio-economic management.
He suggested the two foreign ministries continue their close cooperation to fully tap available potential and push collaboration between the two countries in the time ahead, particularly in politics-diplomacy, economy, education, green transition, digital economy and circular economy, and at multilateral forums, thus bringing practical benefits to their people and contributing to cooperation and development in the two regions.
For his part, Rydberg congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in socio-economic development, international integration and the COVID-19 fight, and emphasised that Sweden considers Vietnam a priority partner in Southeast Asia, and wishes to tighten the bilateral ties.
The officials agreed to step up meetings and delegation exchanges, as well as trade and investment promotion activities, and expand the bilateral cooperation in other potential areas.
Earlier the same day, Rydberg and Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc co-chaired the political consultation between the Vietnamese and Swedish foreign ministries in Hanoi, during which the sides exchanged views on the bilateral collaboration and regional and international issues of shared concern.
They reviewed the Vietnam-Sweden cooperation in different spheres, and reached consensus on measures to boost the ties after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ngoc suggested the two sides resume all-level delegation exchanges and increase trade and investment promotion activities, and called on Sweden to share its experience in innovation, science-technology, energy, climate change response, green growth, the fulfillment of commitments at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), and utilisation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Rydberg said the Swedish business community regards Vietnam as an important market in the global value chain, and shared the view that the two ministries should further their close coordination to contribute to fostering the relationship between the two countries dynamically and effectively across spheres.
The sides also consented to maintain their cooperation at multilateral forums and their mutual support in the election and nomination to United Nations agencies and organisations, along with cooperation within the frameworks of ASEAN-EU and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
They exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern in Asia-Pacific and Europe, the East Sea issue and the Mekong sub-regional cooperation.
