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The visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho from March 24-26 is expected to help strengthen the cooperative relations between the two countries in various areas, said Don Tuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for Foreign Affairs.

Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho (Photo: euractiv.com)

The visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho from March 24-26 is expected to help strengthen the cooperative relations between the two countries in various areas, said Don Tuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for Foreign Affairs.

Speaking to the media ahead of the visit, made at the invitation of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, Phong said that this is his first visit outside Europe by Jussi Halla-aho since he took office and he will visit only Vietnam this time, showing Vietnam's special position in Finland's foreign policy, as well as the good friendship between the two countries' legislatures. 

The visit also aims to mark the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations (1973-2023), he added.

According to the official, for the last 51 years, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Finland have been maintained and developed well. Finland always gives Vietnam much 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 continuously increased, reaching nearly 380 million USD in 2023. However, it is still a modest number, especially in the context of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) taking effect in 2020.

Regarding investment, Finland currently ranks 58th out of 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 35 valid projects worth over 47 million USD, which also remains modest rate compared to Finland's economic potential and strengths, Phong said.

Therefore, Phong said through this visit, leaders of the two countries will discuss measures to further strengthen economic, trade, and investment cooperation, particularly how to raise trade turnover, increase Finnish investment in Vietnam, and attract more Finnish businesses to Vietnam, especially in fields where the European country has strengths and Vietnam has demand like high technology, digital transformation, education-training, and component production.

The two sides also expect to strengthen their cooperation in education and training, as now about 2,500 Vietnamese students are studying in Finland, he added.

Vietnam will take this occasion to thank Finland for supporting the 12,000-strong Vietnamese community in the country and calling on the country to keep creating favourable conditions for the community to integrate deeper in the host nation and further contribute to the socio-economic development of Finland as well as the relations between the two countries, he noted.

He stressed that the legislatures of Vietnam and Finland have been closely coordinating and supporting each other. Their cooperation has been maintained properly through the exchanges of high-level NA delegations.

The two sides have coordinated and supported each other at regional and international parliamentary forums. Speaker Jussi Halla-aho’s visit to Vietnam will contribute to consolidating and further promoting the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Finland, including their legislatures.

Phong informed that the top legislators of Vietnam and Finland will discuss measures to strengthen cooperation between the two legislative bodies, especially in exchanging experience in legislation and supreme supervision, and deciding on important national issues./.

VNA