Switzerland hopes for early signing of FTA between Vietnam, EFTA

Vietnam and Switzerland have agreed to soon conclude negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member.

Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin made the announcement at a joint press conference following their talks in Bern city on November 26.

Describing President Phuc’s official visit as a new development milestone in Switzerland-Vietnam relations, President Parmelin said the two sides still have many opportunities and much potential for growth.

The Vietnamese leader noted that he and his Swiss counterpart shared the view that despite development, the bilateral cooperation has yet to match potential of both nations, and they agreed to soon conclude the talks on the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA.

He added Vietnam welcomes the two countries and their businesses promoting innovation cooperation.

The Presidents agreed to elevate the two nations’ 2019 letter of intent on innovation, science and technology to a protocol on innovation. Therefore, Vietnam welcomes Swiss companies to cooperate with the Southeast Asian country in innovation and digital economy.

The Swiss President said he wanted to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) similar to the deal that Vietnam signed with the European Union, thereby eliminating barriers to goods circulation between the two countries. Another priority is to build a favourable legal framework and effectively enforce intellectual property rights, he said, adding that these are factors that will strongly attract Swiss investors to invest in Vietnam.

President Parmelin informed that he and President Phuc had agreed to assign the heads of the two negotiating teams to accelerate the talks on the EFTA-Vietnam FTA./.

VNA