At a signing ceremony between Vietnamese and Finnish universities. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - NationalAssembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will pay an official visit to Finland fromSeptember 10-11 at the invitation of Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Anu Vehvilainen.
The visit is of significance and is expected to promote the Vietnam – Finland traditional friendship an💖d extensive partnership in various areas.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties onJanuary 25, 1973, Vietnam - Finland relations have thrived in many spheres.Both sides offered mutual support at regional and global forums. Two-way tradehas increased steadily over the past years.
They also facilitatedthe exchange of delegations at all levels and the two countries’ leaders alsoheld meetings on the sidelines of international conferences.
The signing of aFramework Agreement on projects funded by Finland’s Public Sector InvestmentFacility (PIF) scheme also created a framework for the implementa🦹tion ofprojects using official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans providedby the Finnish Government.
Two-way trade hit 337.4 million USD last year and 348.8 million USD by the end of July. (Photo: VNA) Finland's educational model is being adopted at theVietnam-Finland International School. More than 2,000 Vietnamese students are nowstudying and developing professional skills in the European country.
Finland also approved a report on the evaluation of transition process in Vietnam in June 2021, marking the transition of bilateral cooperationmodel from development cooperation to a stage of mutually beneficialcooperation.
Vietnam is a gateway for Finland to develop relations inSoutheast Asia. The two sides shared views on many international issues.Finland supported Vietnam's foreign policy. Moreover, Vietnam's role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations Security Council is also important to the Europeancountry.
Economic-trade-investmentis top priority fields of Finland in its relations with Vietnam. Two-way tradehit 337.4 million USD last year and 348.8 million USD by the end of July.
Finland is now home to 29 valid projects with a total registered capital of23.632 million USD, ranking 70th out of 140 countries andterritories directly investing in Vietnam.
On March 23, 2017, the FinnishForeign Ministry announced a new national strategy on bilateral developmentcooperation with Vietnam for the 2016-2020 period with a goal of gradually replacingdevelopment cooperation with mutually beneficial cooperation.
During the visit, Hue is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on FinnishPresident Sauli Niinistö, hold talks with Speaker of the Finnish Parliament AnuVehvilainen and meet with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
During these meetings, he is expected to discuss bilateral ties and areas of strategic cooperation with the Finnishleaders, orientations to boost collaboration between the two legislatures within bilateral and multilateral frameworks, as well as issues of regional andglobal concern such as climate change response and sustainable developmentpromotion.
The two sides will also look into measures to fully tap investment and tradeopportunities from the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, control the COVID-19 pandemic in tandem with post-pandemic recovery, economictransformation, including the supply and transfer of vaccines and vaccineproduction technology, medicines and medical equipment to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese side is planning to propose Finland soon approve the EU-Vietnam InvestmentProtection Agreement (EVIPA) and continue support to Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive cooperation with the EU.
A number of investment promotion, business-to-business connectivity activities,and meetings wi꧟th the Vietnamese community in Finland are also planned./.
