Swiss-Vietnamese Business Gateway to establish representative board | Business | Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus)

Ambassador Le Linh Lan speaks at SVBG debut ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Geneva (VNA)
– The non-profit Swiss-Vietnamese Business Gateway (SVBG) decided at a meeting on May 15 to establish a representative board
comprising those working in various fields in Vietnam, to promote bilateral trade,
cultural, and educational ties.

The
board’s chief representative will take charge of developing ties with domestic and
foreign enterprises, the deputy chief representative will be responsible for fostering
bonds with businesspeople and intellectuals with close ties to the two nations,
and two members will hold events and external affairs in Vietnam.

Luong
Van My Thien, a Vietnamese-Swiss who has worked for Nestlé for nearly 30 years and
helped bring the corporation to Vietnam in the early 1990s, takes on the role of
the SVBG’s Honorary Chairman and Chief Advisor.

The
SVBG also discussed its development strategy at the meeting, adopted an internal
code of conduct, and upheld the principles of information confidentiality, intellectual
property, the responsible use of social media, and the management of conflicts of
interest.

At
the SVBG debut ceremony in late February, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le
Linh Lan spoke highly of its establishment at a time when the two countries are
celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. She stressed
that it is the first association established by Vietnamese in Switzerland to boost
bilateral trade.

The
ambassador added that the Vietnamese Embassy and Trade Office in Switzerland support
the SVBG’s activities, therefore making a practical contribution to ties between
the two countries’ small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Founded
by journalist Nguyen Thi Thuc (pseudonym Thuc Minh), former chief of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper’s
Singapore bureau, and two Vietnamese-Swiss businesspeople in Lausanne, the SVBG focuses
on updating enterprises from both countries on economic potential and opportunities
via seminars, forums, and bulletins, providing guidance and support, facilitating
technological transfer, introducing experts, skilled workers, and outsourcing services,
and holding socio-cultural activities to support business activities.

Switzerland
is now Vietnam’s sixth-largest European investor, with total capital of around 2
billion USD, primarily in manufacturing and processing and electricity. Meanwhile,
Vietnam is Switzerland’s fourth-largest ASEAN trade partner, with two-way trade
topping 3.6 billion USD in 2019. Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association,
comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, have been officially
negotiating a free trade agreement since 2012./.