Hanoi (VNA)♔ – The visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the Parliament of FinlandJussi Halla-aho from March 24-26 is expected to help strengthen the cooperative relations between the two countries in various areas, said Don Tuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for Foreign Affairs.

Speakingto the media ahead of the visit, made at the invitation of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, Phong said that this is his first visit outside Europe by Jussi Halla-aho sincehe took office and he will visit only Vietnam this time, showing Vietnam's special position in Finland's foreign policy, as well as thegood friendship between the two countries' legislatures.  Thevisit also aims to mark the 50thanniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations(1973-2023), he added. According to the official, for the last 51 years, the traditional friendship and multifacetedcooperation between Vietnam and Finland have been maintained and developedwell. Finland always gives Vietnam much attention and support. Finlandhas continuously provided non-refundable aid to Vietnam since the two countriesestablished diplomatic relations. Economic-trade-investment cooperation isa top priority in their relations. Two-way trade has continuously increased, reaching nearly 380million USD in 2023. However, it is still a modest number, especially in thecontext of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takingeffect in 2020. Regardinginvestment, Finland currently ranks 58th out of 140 countries and territoriesinvesting in Vietnam with 35 valid projects worth over 47million USD, which also remains modest rate compared to Finland's economicpotential and strengths, Phong said. Therefore, Phong said through this visit, leaders of the two countries will discuss measures tofurther strengthen economic, trade, and investment cooperation, particularlyhow to raise trade turnover, increase Finnish investment in Vietnam, andattract more Finnish businesses to Vietnam, especially in fields where theEuropean country has strengths and Vietnam has demand like hightechnology, digital transformation, education-training, and componentproduction. Thetwo sides also expect to strengthen their cooperation in education andtraining, as now about 2,500 Vietnamese students are studying in Finland, he added. Vietnam will take this occasion to thank Finland for supporting the 12,000-strong Vietnamesecommunity in the country and calling on the country to keep creating favourableconditions for the community to integrate deeper in the host nation and further contribute to thesocio-economic development of Finland as well as the relations between the twocountries, he noted. Hestressed that the legislatures of Vietnam and Finland have been closelycoordinating and supporting each other. Their cooperation has been maintained properly through the exchanges of high-level NA delegations. Thetwo sides have coordinated and supported each other at regional andinternational parliamentary forums. Speaker Jussi Halla-aho’s visit to Vietnamwill contribute to consolidating and further promoting the traditionalfriendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Finland, including their legislatures. Phonginformed that the top legislators of Vietnam and Finland will discuss measures to strengthen cooperation betweenthe two legislative bodies, especially in exchanging experience in legislationand supreme supervision, and deciding on important national issues./.