Ahead of General Secretary To Lam's visit to Finland, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang gave an interview to the press.
- Could you please tell us the meaning and purpose of General Secretary To Lam 's official visit to Finland?
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang: At the invitation of Finnish President Alexander Stubb, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, will pay an official visit to the Republic of Finland from October 20 to 22, 2025.
This is the first visit by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to Finland since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973.
Following the vibrant high-level foreign affairs activities since the beginning of the year, General Secretary To Lam's visit to Finland is a clear demonstration of the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, proactiveness, and comprehensive and deep international integration, and is also an important foreign affairs activity to promote the implementation of Resolution No. 59 on international integration in the new situation.
The visit carries a message of sincere affection and respect of the Party, State and People of Vietnam towards Finland, a country that has actively helped Vietnam in the past struggle to defend the Fatherland and in the current cause of national construction and development.
Looking back at history, Finland was one of the first Nordic countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
For decades, Finland has been an important development aid partner of Vietnam, focusing on areas such as water supply and drainage, poverty reduction, climate change, forestry, etc., making an important contribution to the economic and social development process in Vietnam.
Until now, “clean Finnish water” is still mentioned by Vietnamese people as a symbol of friendship and effective and lasting assistance from Finnish friends. Many projects in remote areas have contributed to improving and enhancing the lives of Vietnamese people.
The visit is also an important opportunity for the two countries to review past achievements in cooperation as well as set out major orientations, renew relations, create momentum, and bring the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation to new heights.
In addition to strengthening political trust between Vietnam and Finland, the General Secretary's visit this time will create opportunities for deeper and more comprehensive cooperation in many fields, especially in potential fields such as digital economy, green economy, circular economy, science and technology, maritime, renewable energy, high-tech agriculture, etc. These are priority areas for Vietnam and Finland, where it has strengths and experience.
In addition, the visit is also an important opportunity for Vietnam to promote cooperation with the Nordic region, while promoting Vietnam's bridging role in connecting Finland with ASEAN, the EU with ASEAN, contributing to strengthening regional connectivity in the context of a rapidly changing world with many challenges that need to be jointly resolved and responded to as at present.
- Could you please evaluate the Vietnam-Finland relationship over the past time and your expectations for this working trip of the General Secretary?
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang: Once a friendly country that supported and helped each other in difficult times, today, Finland continues to be an important partner of Vietnam in the Northern Europe region.
Over time, Vietnam-Finland relations have shifted from development cooperation to mutually beneficial cooperation. Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Finland has grown continuously in recent years, reaching 422.5 million USD in 2024 and more than 279 million USD in the first 9 months of 2025.
Cooperation in the field of education and training has been expanded. Currently, nearly 20 Vietnamese universities are cooperating effectively with Finnish partners and more than 2,500 Vietnamese students are studying in Finland in the fields of economics, information technology, tourism, etc.
Cooperation in other fields such as science-technology, culture-sports, tourism, labor... has developed positively. Cooperation in new fields such as circular economy, high-tech agriculture, green transformation, renewable energy... promises to bring new cooperation frameworks suitable to the potential and needs of each side.
In that spirit, the visit will contribute to consolidating and strengthening the relationship between Vietnam and Finland, promoting existing cooperation mechanisms, orienting new cooperation mechanisms, and deepening specialized cooperation, especially in strategic fields.
With the foundation of good traditional relations and open potential and space for cooperation, I believe that General Secretary To Lam's visit will open a new phase, creating a strong and breakthrough change in cooperation with Finland; bringing about many positive results for the benefit of the people of the two countries, actively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in each region and in the world.
- Thank you very much, Deputy Minister!./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chuyen-tham-phan-lan-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-la-dau-moc-quan-trong-cua-quan-he-hai-nuoc-post1071267.vnp
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