Dominique Paravicini, State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, said, "Switzerland considers Vietnam a strategic partner in Southeast Asia, and I believe that Swiss businesses have contributed significantly to Vietnam's economy. In fact, the statistics do not reflect the entirety of Swiss involvement in Vietnam, as a large amount of capital comes via Singapore," said Paravicini.
Vietnam is an attractive destination with a lot of potential, but Swiss investors still see a number of barriers to doing business here as they struggle with the legal framework and bilateral trade relationship between the two countries.
“Economic cooperation is the most effective tool for strengthening diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Vietnam, and the signing ceremony of this MoU today is an important step," Paravicini added.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc said, "Vietnam's economy is valued at $400 billion and is one of the four largest economies in ASEAN, and we greatly appreciate the importance of this cooperation with Switzerland."
Swiss firms are being encouraged to invest in areas in which they are seen as having traditional strengths, such as finance, sci-tech, and digital transformation.
"We will support Swiss ventures here, as the view of the government is that the success of Swiss firms in Vietnam is our success too. In return, Vietnam expects SECO to help Vietnam achieve such goals as developing new eco-industrial parks and renovating older industrial parks while implementing a circular economic model," Ngoc added.
Le Thi Thanh Thao, a representative of UNIDO in Vietnam, pointed out the pivotal role industrial parks have had in the development of Vietnam, but also the many environmental and social challenges, and, therefore, the need to move towards a more sustainable growth model.
“In the second phase of the project in the next four years, we will replicate the eco-industrial park model to promote the country's sustainable development strategy," Thao said.
UNIDO has been working with the MPI since 2015 on policy advice and overseeing the conversion of seven older parks to the eco-industrial model with funding from SECO.
"I would like to express my most sincere thanks for the cooperation and active support from the MPI and SECO. They have laid the foundation for the development of eco-industrial parks and I look forward to receiving more support from them in the future," Thao added.
