Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, to their official visit to Sweden and believed that the visit would create new momentum to promote the strong development of the Vietnam-Sweden bilateral relationship.

Expressing his sincere gratitude for the warm and respectful welcome that the Royal Family, Government, Parliament and people of Sweden have given to the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation and individuals, the Prime Minister affirmed that this visit is a clear demonstration of the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, which is increasingly developing strongly, substantially and in depth.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister respectfully conveyed the greetings of General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson and senior Swedish leaders.

Affirming that friendship and good feelings for each other are invaluable assets and a precious foundation of the two nations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always remembers the valuable help and support that Sweden has given to the Vietnamese people in the cause of national liberation and construction and development today.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh introduces the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Sweden is not only the Western friend who most strongly supports the Vietnamese people's national liberation movement, but also the Northwestern European partner that provides the largest non-refundable aid to Vietnam in its journey of rebuilding and building the country, and is the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1969.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared that during this visit, the Prime Minister visited the family of the late Prime Minister Olof Palme to express his respect and gratitude to Prime Minister Olof Palme and the Swedish people for their enthusiastic support for Vietnam in the struggle for national independence and reunification.

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Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson introduces the Swedish high-ranking delegation - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister sincerely thanked Sweden for recently presenting Vietnam with a film directed by Bo Öhlén, capturing the moment when Swedish people took to the streets to celebrate the victory of the Vietnamese people on April 30, 1975. Bai Bang Paper Mill, the National Children's Hospital, and Uong Bi Hospital will forever be great symbols in the relationship between the two countries and will continue to be effective in Vietnam. Swedish culture and knowledge have come to Vietnam through the music of ABBA and the prestigious Nobel Prize. Many Vietnamese officials, experts, and doctors trained in Sweden have been making positive contributions to the country's development.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

During the talks, the two sides informed each other about the development situation of each country. Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson congratulated Vietnam on its great achievements in socio-economic development and international integration in recent times; affirmed that the Government and people of Sweden always attach importance to the relationship with Vietnam and wish to further promote cooperation between the two sides in many areas such as trade, investment, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, climate change response, sustainable development, etc.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson before talks - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

On the basis of "glorious past, bright future", the two Prime Ministers affirmed that this is the time for Vietnam and Sweden to renew relations and aim to elevate relations to new heights.

The two leaders agreed that the two countries need to increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance political trust and mutual understanding, creating favorable conditions for expanding cooperation in other fields.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that on the basis of good political relations, the two countries need to strengthen defense and security cooperation, share experiences and viewpoints on global issues, especially in the context of a rapidly changing and unpredictable world.

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On the basis of "glorious past, bright future", the two Prime Ministers affirmed that this is the time for Vietnam and Sweden to renew relations and aim to elevate relations to new heights - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The two sides also agreed to strengthen coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organizations, especially at the United Nations and the ASEAN-EU framework; support each other in promoting Vietnam-EU and Sweden-ASEAN relations, contributing to solving global challenges.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Sweden and Vietnam are two economies that can support each other as Sweden has strengths in technology, innovation, and digital transformation, while Vietnam has a labor force, a market of more than 100 million people, and is the gateway to a more dynamic and younger market of 700 million people, ASEAN.

In trade and investment cooperation, the two sides affirmed that they will continue to facilitate the access of goods from each country to each other's markets through the effective implementation of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thereby accessing the EU and ASEAN markets and striving to bring two-way trade turnover to 3 billion USD in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Sweden to urge the remaining EU member states to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and support the European Commission to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood exports.

The Swedish Prime Minister shared that Sweden is very proud that Ericsson Group has been present in Vietnam for a long time and has accompanied Vietnam in information technology and telecommunications. On this occasion, the two Leaders agreed to upgrade the relationship to a strategic partnership in the field of science, technology and innovation and agreed to promote cooperation in the fields of innovation, high technology, nuclear energy, semiconductors, green transformation, digital transformation, etc., and strengthen training links, especially training high-quality human resources.

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The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of the Strategic Partnership Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation, Innovation and Digital Transformation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister called on Swedish businesses to increase investment in areas of strength and in line with Vietnam's development orientation such as innovation, green economy, digital economy and circular economy, renewable energy, urban planning, etc.

In cultural - sports - tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchange, the two sides affirmed to increase experience sharing in building and perfecting cultural policies; enhance tourism promotion, creating the most favorable conditions for attracting tourists to visit each country.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked Sweden for its support and assistance to the Vietnamese community in Sweden and asked the Swedish Government to continue creating favorable conditions for the community to live and work stably, integrate into the host society, contribute to the development of Sweden and be an important bridge to promote the friendly relations between the two countries.

Discussing international and regional issues of mutual concern, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson both emphasized their support for long-term peaceful solutions to conflicts on the basis of respecting the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides support the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), contributing to ensuring peace, stability, and freedom of navigation and aviation in this important area for international trade.

At the end of the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh invited Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson to visit Vietnam soon. Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson happily accepted the invitation.

According to VGP

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/viet-nam-thuy-dien-tro-thanh-doi-tac-chien-luoc-ve-khoa-hoc-cong-nghe-2411336.html