General Secretary To Lam's visit contributes to deepening Finland-Vietnam relations

On the occasion of General Secretary To Lam and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation's official visit to the Republic of Finland from October 20-22, Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam Pekka Voutilainen gave an interview to the press.

- General Secretary To Lam and his wife are on an official visit to Finland. How does the Ambassador assess the importance of this visit?

Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen: We are extremely pleased that General Secretary To Lam, his wife and the Vietnamese delegation are paying an official visit to Finland. This shows how wonderful the relationship between Finland and Vietnam really is.

The relationship between our two countries has lasted for more than 50 years. I hope and am sure that this visit will contribute to strengthening, deepening and consolidating that relationship.

Traditionally, the relationship between Finland and Vietnam has focused on development cooperation. However, Vietnam has shown excellent economic growth. Therefore, in the future, the relationship will focus more on trade and investment.

Currently, public investments from Finnish public funds in Vietnam are close to 100 million euros. In addition, a number of private funds and Finnish companies are also investing in Vietnam.

In terms of bilateral trade, Vietnam has become our largest trading partner in Southeast Asia both last year and this year.

- According to the Ambassador, which areas will have the greatest potential for cooperation between the two countries in the future, especially in the fields of economy, development and innovation?

Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen: I think there are many Finnish companies that can contribute to Vietnam's economic growth and welfare.

I would particularly like to highlight areas such as information technology (including 5G, 6G), cyber security, energy (clean energy), circular economy, water and medical technology. These are areas that are in line with Vietnam's major goals in developing infrastructure and improving people's well-being.

In the IT sector, we have companies like Nokia. In the energy sector, we have companies like Wärtsilä, which offers power plants that can use flexible fuels, from biofuels to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen.

Therefore, there are many opportunities to create sustainable solutions. Regarding the circular economy, we are also working with the European Union and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to develop the circular economy in industrial zones across Vietnam.

Overall, I must say that Vietnam is strengthening its international role and position in the current international context, both politically and economically, thanks to its excellent economic growth.

I am sure that General Secretary To Lam's visit will bring a lot of work in the coming years to follow up the Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and projects that will be signed by both sides.

Several private sector companies will also sign new cooperation agreements during the visit, in addition to MOUs between government agencies.

- The Ambassador mentioned the MOUs and many other projects as expected results of the visit. So what will be the long-term impact of these results on Vietnam-Finland relations, Ambassador?

Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen: I see this developing further. As Vietnam moves to a higher level economically, the relationship will certainly involve more and more trade and investment, which will bring mutual benefits to both countries.

There are about 16,000 Vietnamese people in Finland. We are very keen to have Vietnamese people come to Finland to study and work as professionals in many fields. Vietnam has a very well-educated workforce, which is definitely needed in Finland as we continue to develop our economy.

We can also share some of our secrets, as we are now the happiest country in the world for eight years in a row.

- Could the Ambassador share his expectations during his term in Vietnam and future cooperation between the two countries?

Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen: In terms of future cooperation, I believe that we will see the trade and investment relationship flourish and rise to a whole new level. I see a lot of potential there.

Fun fact: Finns are the biggest coffee drinkers per capita in the world. Vietnam is a great coffee producer.

On average, Finns consume nearly 13kg of coffee per year/person. This is a big market for coffee producers and other products from Vietnam.

Vietnam has sold a wide range of products to Finland, from textiles to high-tech products and agricultural products.

Finland can act as a gateway to the Nordic and European Union (EU) markets, while Vietnam can act as a gateway to the Southeast Asian (ASEAN) market for Finnish companies.

- Sincerely thank Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chuyen-tham-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-gop-phan-lam-sau-sac-quan-he-phan-lan-viet-nam-post1071454.vnp