A historic milestone in Vietnam-Finland relations

At the invitation of President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, paid an official visit to the Republic of Finland from October 20 to 22.

General Secretary and President To Lam met with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on September 24, 2024. (Photo: LAM KHÁNH/VNA)

The visit is of great significance, marking a historic milestone as this is the first time the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has officially visited Finland since the two countries established diplomatic relations more than half a century ago.

In 1973, Vietnam and Finland officially established diplomatic relations, laying the first bricks to build a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation. After more than 50 years of companionship, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Finland have been cultivated, maintained and developed well by generations of leaders and people of the two countries.

Despite the geographical distance, Finland is one of the leading countries in providing development aid to Vietnam when we face countless difficulties in protecting and building the country. For many years, Finland has continuously provided non-refundable aid, without imposing political conditions, to Vietnam, with a total value of about 340 million USD, focusing on the fields of water resource management, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, forestry... Projects such as the Finnish water supply system have become familiar names to many Vietnamese people, a living symbol of the traditional friendship between the people of the two countries.

Since 2020, the two countries have successfully transitioned from a development cooperation model to a mutually beneficial cooperation phase. Finland has identified Vietnam as one of its priority partners in the Southeast Asia region.

Meanwhile, Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Finland. The two sides regularly exchange delegations at all levels, closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations and the ASEAN-European Union (EU) cooperation framework.

Based on political trust and warm friendship, Vietnam and Finland continue to reap cooperation achievements in many fields. In terms of economy, bilateral trade turnover in 2024 will reach 422 million USD; in the first 7 months of 2025, it will reach 216 million USD. Finland currently has 37 investment projects in Vietnam with a total investment capital of 50.8 million USD, ranking 58th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam; while Vietnam currently has 10 investment projects in Finland.

In addition, cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchange has been continuously expanded and deepened. Science and technology is a potential field of cooperation between the two countries with many memoranda of understanding signed since 1995. The framework agreement between the two countries on the Vietnam-Finland Innovation Partnership Program (IPP) signed in 2008 has become an important foundation for extensive cooperation between the two countries in science, technology, and innovation.

Regarding education and training, in 2017, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of education and 18 Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries. Based on the signed agreements, Vietnamese universities and Finnish partners are effectively implementing cooperation programs, focusing on the exchange of lecturers and students. Currently, there are nearly 20 Vietnamese universities actively cooperating with Finnish partners and more than 2,500 Vietnamese students studying in Finland in the fields of economics, information technology, tourism, etc.

General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Finland sends a strong message about Vietnam’s foreign policy, always loyal to traditional friends who have actively helped Vietnam in the process of building, protecting and developing the country, including Finland. The visit opens up an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to have in-depth discussions on the direction of bilateral relations in the coming time.

General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Finland sends a strong message about Vietnam’s foreign policy, always loyal to traditional friends who have actively helped Vietnam in the process of building, protecting and developing the country, including Finland. The visit opens up an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to have in-depth discussions on the direction of bilateral relations in the coming time.

In addition, this is also an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in traditional fields, while creating breakthroughs in the fields of circular economy, information technology, telecommunications, high technology, environment and clean energy... These are fields in which Finland has strengths and Vietnam has needs, is prioritizing development and needs to catch up with the general level of the region and the world.

Wishing the official visit to Finland by General Secretary To Lam and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation a great success, contributing to strengthening political trust and creating new momentum for the Vietnam-Finland relationship to reach new heights, deeper and more comprehensive.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dau-moc-lich-su-trong-quan-he-viet-nam-phan-lan-post916541.html