Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong (right) presents a gift to Swiss Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis. (Photo: VNA)

At the event, the State Bank of Vietnam's Governor Nguyen Thi Hong, on behalf of the Vietnamese Government, congratulated the Swiss Government and people on the occasion.

With support from international friends, including Switzerland, Vietnam is sparing no efforts to push back the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

Hong expressed her hope that there will be more high-ranking delegations and friends from Switzerland to visit Vietnam as well as more people from the European country to form connections with Vietnam.

Cassis said the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs supports the designing and construction of the 'Geneva Conference Room' within a new building of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam to support the facility's training and research on international relations.

With 177 direct investment projects in Vietnam and a total registered capital of about US$1.9 billion, Switzerland currently ranks 20th among 140 countries and territories directly investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

Despite adverse impacts from the COVID-19 epidemic, two-way trade between Vietnam and Switzerland reached US$863.5 million in 2020.