Speaker of Finnish Parliament arrives in Hanoi for official visit
VOV.VN - Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho and a high-ranking delegation of the Finnish Parliament touched down at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 24, starting a three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.
Those welcoming the delegation at airport included Vice Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Foreign Affairs Le Anh Tuan and Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam Keijo Norvanto, among others.
The visit is designed to mark the 50th founding anniversary of both countries’ diplomatic relations (1973 - 2023).
This is the first visit to a country outside Europe by Jussi Halla-aho since he took office and he is visiting only Vietnam this time, indicating Vietnam's special position in Finland's external policy, as well as the sound friendship between the two legislative bodies.
The trip is expected to help strengthen the cooperative ties between the two countries in a multitude of fields, Don Tuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Foreign Affairs, told the media ahead of the visit.
Over the past 51 years, the time-honoured friendship and all-around cooperation between Vietnam and Finland have been maintained and developed well. Finland always gives Vietnam great attention and support.
Finland has continuously provided non-refundable aid to Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations. Economic-trade-investment cooperation is a top priority in their relations.
Two-way trade has seen constant growth, with last year’s trade value reaching close to US$380 million. However, it is still a modest number, especially amid the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) coming into force in 2020.
Regarding investment, Finland currently ranks 58th out of 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 35 valid projects valued at US$47 million, which also remains modest rate compared to the European nation’s economic potential and strengths.
Through this visit, the two countries' leaders will discuss a score of measures to further push economic, trade, and investment cooperation, intensify Finnish investment in Vietnam, and lure more Finnish businesses to Vietnam, especially in fields where the European country has strengths and Vietnam has demand such as high technology, digital transformation, education-training, and component production.
During the visit, both top legislators are set to discuss ways to augment cooperation between the two legislatures, especially in exchanging experience in legislation and supreme supervision.
