Vietnam
Solemn 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Sweden relations
The Vietnam-Sweden ties will be further consolidated and developed in the future thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Hinh said on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1969-2014).
Sweden was the first industrialised country to set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and bilateral ties have since grown unceasingly, the ambassador said.
He particularly noted that two-way trade has surged during the past three years at an annual rate of 28 percent, hitting 1.1 billion USD in 2013, and Sweden is now ranking 54 th among 100 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
The ambassador, however, stressed that there is plenty of room for both sides to boost their cooperation in all areas from trade and investment to health care, education, science and technology, green energy and climate change response.
According to the Ambassador, the Vietnamese Embassy in Sweden will organise a range of activities this year to mark the 45th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties.
He said as part of the activities, a grand ceremony was held in Stockholm on February 20, and more events will be organised in several major Swedish cities which have close relations with Vietnam and where there are large communities of Vietnamese. The events will focus on promoting the Vietnamese culture and tourism, calling for more Swedish investment in Vietnam and forging people-to-people contacts.
There are about 15,000 Vietnamese citizens living and studying in Sweden
