Parliament leader begins official visit to Finland

ABO/NDO - National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has arrived in Helsinki for an official visit to Finland at the invitation of Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Anu Vehvilainen.

Finland is the final destination in the Vietnamese parliament leader’s European tour, after Austria and Belgium. The visit is expected to open a new era of economic cooperation between the two countries towards common development.

The visit is highly significant politically as it is the first official visit by a Vietnamese National Assembly leader to Finland in 28 years, marking a new milestone between the two countries’ legislative bodies and promoting ties between Vietnam and Nordic and Baltic countries through Finland.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (Photo: VNA).

The traditional friendly and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Finland has been maintained through high-level visits, cooperation in multilateral forums and people-to-people exchanges.

Bilateral trade has been rising over the years although the absolute number is not so large as Finland has a population of only 5.5 million. Two-way trade reached US$337.4 million in 2020, of which Vietnam imported US$196.6 million worth of Finnish goods and exported US$140.8 million worth of goods to Finland.

The parliamentary relationship between the two countries has been maintained through delegation exchanges, notably the Vietnamese National Assembly leader’s visit to Finland in 1993 and the Finish Parliament leader’s visit to Vietnam in 2010.

Within the framework of multilateral cooperation, the two sides have coordinated and supported each other at regional and international parliamentary forums such as the International Parliamentary Union and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership.

Finland’s key economic sectors include electronics, timber, shipbuilding, and maritime transport. Its GDP in 2020 was estimated at US$271.2 billion with income per capita of US$47,910.

Finland has supported Vietnam in the struggle for national independence and reunification in the past as well as in the current cause of national construction and development.

(Source: NDO)