At the reception, Secretary Vuong Dinh Hue congratulated Ivo Sieber on his new term of office in Vietnam, while expressing his belief that the ambassador would successfully complete his assigned tasks.
Hailing the strong growth of the ties between Vietnam and Switzerland, Hanoi and Bern in particular, the Hanoi Party chief affirmed that he would try his best to boost the bilateral cooperation.
For his part, Swiss Ambassador Ivo Sieber expressed his thanks to the city leader for his warm welcome, and congratulated Vietnam and Hanoi on successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Switzerland is known as the second Western country to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam, and the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations next year, said Mr. Siebe.
According to the ambassador, over the past years, the relations between the two countries have been flourishing in all fields, especially in economic development, sustainable growth and climate change adaptation.
He pledged to make greater contributions to the bilateral ties cross all fields during his term in Vietnam.
The diplomat also wished Hanoi authorities to work with the embassy of Switzerland to successfully hold the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
Agreeing with the ambassador’s ideas, Secretary Vuong Dinh Hue briefed the guest on the city’s socio-economic situation, as well as its upcoming development strategy in the time to come.
Mr. Hue informed that the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth is set to reach 4% in 2020, 1.5 times higher than the national average, and its inflation would be kept at 3%, lower than the national target of 4%.
According to him, Hanoi is set to become Vietnam’s center of science and technology by 2025, and at the top of ASEAN in some aspects.
In a bid to achieve the goal, Hanoi will fully tap into human resources in science and technology, and launch an initiatives network to connect scientists and researchers at home and abroad.
The capital city is looking forward to coordinating with Switzerland in building up an ecosystem of innovative startups, tourism, education, finance, and others, Mr. Hue emphasized.
He also pledged that the Hanoi government would create favorable conditions for the Swiss embassy’s activities, as well as jointly organize events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries (1971-2021).
