Martin Candinas, president of the National Council of Switzerland in a meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien on June 30, 2023 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Photo: MOIT

Switzerland was one of the first Western European countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam since 1971.

Since then, the two countries have regularly maintained exchange visits at all levels, constantly expanding and improving the effectiveness of cooperation.

In 2019, trade exchange between the two sides reached a record figure of US$2.8 billion. 140 leading Swiss enterprises are present in Vietnam with a total investment capital of nearly US$2 billion. At that time, Switzerland rose to 6th place in the European region investing in Vietnam.

Swiss exports to Vietnam reached a total value of US$622.5 million in 2022.

Famous for manufacturing high-quality equipment, Switzerland's largest exports to Vietnam are machinery, equipment, tools and instruments. Vietnam exported goods worth US$183.7 million to Switzerland in 2022. Besides key items such as manufactured industrial products and construction materials, food is also a prominent item.

With the group of crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved (HS code 1605), Vietnam is always Switzerland's largest import market.

Switzerland favors Vietnamese seafood products

Nguyen Duc Thuong, commercial counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland, said that as a landlocked country, Switzerland has to import almost all of its seafood every year.

In recent years, according to Nguyen Duc Thuong, Vietnam has always been among Switzerland's largest seafood import markets. For seafood products (code HS03), Vietnam is in the top 4 largest import markets, after Norway, France and the Netherlands.

For the group of prepared or preserved fish, caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs (HS code 1604), Vietnam is also often in the top 10.

As for the group of processed or preserved crustaceans and molluscs (HS code 1605), Vietnam is always Switzerland's largest import market.

Commenting on the prospect of exporting seafood to the Swiss market, Thuong said that by 2024, it is expected that Switzerland's demand for importing this product will increase by 4.6%, and the consumption trend will gradually increase with organic products.

Therefore, Vietnamese businesses need to increase investment in processed seafood, and export of organic seafood products to capture this consumption opportunity of Switzerland, promoting export links to maintain business partners.

Switzerland considers Vietnam a strategic partner in economic cooperation

Martin Candinas, president of the National Council of Switzerland, said Switzerland always values, and wishes to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics and trade.

Switzerland is making efforts towards signing a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), including four countries Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and President of the National Council of Switzerland said that bilateral relations between Vietnam and Switzerland in the fields of economics, trade and investment still have a lot of potential.

The signing of the free trade agreement, which the participating parties have been negotiating for more than 10 years, will be a premise, and an effective tool for the business community to take advantage of development cooperation opportunities, promoting the flow of trade in goods, and investment capital between the two sides.

The two sides agreed to continue strengthening cooperation in various areas.

They affirmed their determination to promote the signing of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA bloc, creating a remarkable development in trade, and investment relations between the two countries.

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