The Vietnamese leader is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and other senior officials.

The Vietnam-Finland economic, trade and investment cooperation has seen positive developments. Two-way trade reached almost US$230 million and direct Finnish investment in Vietnam stood at more than US$60 million in 2009.

On education-training cooperation, around 500 Vietnamese students are studying in Finland. In November 2006, the Finnish Foreign Ministry selected Vietnam as the sole Asian nation to benefit from the second phase of its North-South-South education exchange programme.

Labour cooperation is also a field with potential for development in the Vietnam-Finland relationship. In 2008, Vietnam was the first and only country outside Europe to send guest workers to Finland under a pilot cooperation model called “immigration labour”.

Finland pledged US$49.58 million in ODA to Vietnam for the year 2010, bringing the total to US$400 million.

Before concluding the four-day visit to Switzerland on May 19, President Triet visited members of the Vietnamese delegation to the United Nations, the World Trade Organsiation and other international organisations in Geneva.