The Ambassador of Sweden in Vietnam, Mr Rolf Bergman paid a courtesy call to the State President of Vietnam Mr Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi before completing his four years as Ambassador.
Rolf Bergman thanked the Government and people of Vietnam for wonderful and exciting years and said that he leaves Vietnam with sadness but convinced that he will return to this beautiful country.
Ambassador Bergman confirmed that Sweden, a country which is so far away from Vietnam, has provided long-term support and assistance to Vietnam because of its conviction that human rights whenever under threat, including the rights of Vietnamese people fighting for independence and freedom in 1960´ies, must to be protected. He said:
“Democracy and human rights are still cornerstones in Swedisgh foreign policy and we are pleased that we also have bilateral cooperation in these areas with Vietnam, which we would be happy to deepen further, and in full respect of each other´s history and culture we should be able to continue our dialogue. We also hope to make progress in our common combat against corruption which we believe has negative effects on poverty reduction, economic development, the rule of law and a democratic social structure.”
He also said that our longstanding cooperation in development, to be phased out in a couple of years, now should be expanded into new areas of collaboration, such as trade, investment and tourism.
The State President of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Minh Triet expressed his thanks to the Ambassador of Sweden for his contributions to strengthening the traditional bilateral friendship between Vietnam and Sweden. The President also asked the Ambassador to convey his sincere thanks to Government and people of Sweden for their support and assistance to Vietnam in the past and at present.
He said: “Bilateral relations between the two countries have been strengthened but not to the potentials of both sides. Vietnam will continue to improve its investment environment in order to attract more Swedish companies to do business in Vietnam.” Mr Triet added: “Because of their histories and backgrounds, Vietnam and Sweden have some differences, especially in the perception of human rights and democracy. Therefore dialogue is needed in order to have a better understanding.”
Ambassador Rolf Bergman shared the view with of President Triet that dialogue is very important and as close friends Sweden and Vietnam should be able to share views, which can be both common and different.
