Swedish Embassy celebrates St. Lucia’s Day in Hanoi, towards 55th anniversary in 2024

The Swedish Embassy in Vietnam hosted St. Lucia’s Day celebration in Hanoi on Thursday evening, amid the growing bilateral ties towards the 55th anniversary of the partnership next year (1969-2024).

Vietnam-Sweden trade relation is strengthened by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and undeterred even by the challenges of the pandemic, said Swedish ambassador to Vietnam Ann Mawe. The two countries also cooperate in other fields, such as energy transition, including modernization of smart grids and transmission systems for harnessing renewable energy, the diplomat said.

Another cooperation is air traffic management, towards higher safety, lower environmental impacts, and better operational efficiency. A key cooperation is investments, such as Hestra Gloves’ investment of $9 million in Hai Phong city and Tetra Pak’s investment in Binh Duong province.

Longstanding Swedish companies like ABB, Ericsson, and Hitachi Energy celebrate their 30 years of presence in Vietnam this year, she noted.

“We are excited about FPT Software’s plans to establish an office in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city, next year,” the ambassador highlighted.

In March 2024, the largest Nordic high-level business delegation to date will be converging in Hanoi for a three-day conference to explore the vibrant Vietnamese market and its opportunities, she emphasized.

For her part, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang stated that economic cooperation between the two countries continues to witness new highlights and positive figures. Two-way trade turnover amounted to $1.6 billion in 2022, and Sweden has 107 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of over $722 million, a two-fold increase in comparison with 2020.

“Cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden is not limited to traditional fields, such as trade and investment, education and training, and the manufacturing industry. Rather, there is an increasing trend for both countries to expand to new areas of collaboration. These include green transition, transportation, and information technology,” the deputy minister said.