Opening a new chapter of promising cooperation between Vietnam and Finland

The official visit of General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to the Republic of Finland from October 20-22 was a great success with outstanding achievements.

General Secretary To Lam and President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb after the signing ceremony of cooperation documents. Photo: Thong Nhat/ VNA

This is an important opportunity for the two countries to look back on past achievements in cooperation as well as set out major orientations, renew relations, create momentum, and bring traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation to new heights.

The Vietnam - Finland strategic partnership is built on the foundation of 52 years of friendship and cooperation in many fields, based on trust, equality and mutual respect, with the aim of deepening bilateral and multilateral relations for the benefit of the people of the two countries, contributing to promoting peace , stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

Finland was one of the first Nordic countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 25, 1973. The Finnish Embassy in Hanoi was established in 1974 and Vietnam opened its Embassy in Helsinki in late 2005. The traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries have been well maintained and developed.

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. Up to now, “Finnish clean 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 the Vietnamese people. The two sides regularly exchange delegations at all levels as well as meet in multilateral activities. Two-way trade turnover remains stable.

The capital Helsinki is a beautiful popular city of Finland with many unique architectural works and green trees. In Helsinki, from streets, houses to public transport are all designed to ensure the highest efficiency of use. Here, the welcoming ceremony for General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation was solemnly held at the Presidential Palace, chaired by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his wife. This is the highest-level visit of a Vietnamese leader to Finland, demonstrating Vietnam's deep respect for the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Finland.

During the meetings, the two sides agreed that the visit was an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations and emphasized that in the context of many changes in the world, bilateral relations continue to develop strongly.

At the talks, President Alexander Stubb affirmed that Finland always attaches importance to developing relations with Vietnam and emphasized that Vietnam is Finland's most important trade partner in Southeast Asia; expressing his hope that through this visit, the two countries will have important steps to develop cooperation in many potential fields.

Appreciating Finland's foreign policy and international cooperation for sustainable development and common prosperity, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with Finland; remembers Finland's support for Vietnam in the country's reconstruction and development and expressed his wish that Finland will continue to be a partner and a reliable companion in Vietnam's new era of development.

On this occasion, the two sides issued a Joint Statement on officially upgrading the Vietnam - Finland relationship to a Strategic Partnership. The two sides highly appreciated the important achievements of the bilateral relationship, affirmed the principles, and set out major orientations to promote and strengthen cooperation, develop the traditional friendship and the Vietnam - Finland Strategic Partnership, for the long-term interests of the two peoples, for peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in each region and in the world.

The two sides pledged to increase the exchange of high-level delegations at all levels to strengthen political trust and mutual understanding; agreed that economic cooperation is an important pillar in the Strategic Partnership; promoted cooperation programs in the fields of e-government, online public services, circular economy, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor technology, 5G/6G telecommunications networks and green technologies; wished to promote exchange programs, academic exchanges, scholarships and implementation of programs,

In particular, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and circular economy, focusing on digital transformation, resource management and climate change response; agreed to promote partnerships, cooperation between businesses, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, etc.

Welcoming General Secretary To Lam and his wife along with the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation on an official visit to Finland, the Embassy of Vietnam in Finland and the city of Helsinki (Finland) jointly organized a special concert with the participation of many Finnish friends and the Vietnamese community in Finland, contributing to marking a new step in the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, friends who are geographically distant but close in their aspirations for peace, creativity and sustainable development.

In an emotional evening filled with music, friendship and belief in a bright future of bilateral relations, the Concert was not only a welcome but also a special cultural event celebrating a new development in the Vietnam - Finland bilateral relationship, opening a new chapter of promising cooperation.

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Binh, Ambassador of Vietnam to Finland, shared that over the past 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations, Vietnam and Finland have together written a very special story of cooperation - from development aid relations, the two countries have transformed into equal partners, together towards a green, innovative and creative future. Notably, after the talks, the two leaders of Vietnam and Finland issued a Joint Statement upgrading the Vietnam - Finland relationship to a Strategic Partnership. This is a breakthrough development, opening up a framework for deeper, more trustworthy and comprehensive cooperation, more than ever, demonstrating strong political trust and a common vision towards peace, prosperity and sustainable development.

Particularly impressed by the spirit of cooperation, openness and practicality of Finnish businesses - partners with world-leading experience in innovation, green technology and effective governance, at the meeting with typical Finnish businesses, the General Secretary believes that the future ahead still has a lot of open potential, the two sides can together build a model of cooperation between an advanced Nordic economy and a dynamic Southeast Asian country. It is not only cooperation between the two governments, but also cooperation between the business community, on the basis of trust, respect and mutual development.

On this occasion, General Secretary To Lam and the high-ranking delegations of Vietnam and Finland witnessed the handover ceremony of cooperation documents: Memorandum of Understanding between the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) and ICEYE Group (in Finland); Memorandum of Understanding between Viettel and Nokia Group (in Finland); Memorandum of Understanding between Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and Nokia Group (in Finland); Memorandum of Understanding between VNPT and F-Secure Group (in Finland); Memorandum of Understanding between Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company and Airways Aviation Group (in Finland).

During the visit, General Secretary To Lam and the President of Finland witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents: Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation in the field of environment, biodiversity and climate change between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam and the Ministry of Environment of Finland; Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland on supporting and promoting the preparation and implementation of projects funded under the Finnish Public Investment Programme; Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and the Finnish Export Credit Agency.

With the foundation of good traditional relations and open potential and space for cooperation, General Secretary To Lam's official visit to the Republic of Finland will open a new phase, creating a strong and breakthrough change in cooperation with Finland; bringing 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.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/mo-ra-mot-chuong-hop-tac-moi-day-trien-vong-viet-namphan-lan-20251023155632130.htm