Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính Meets with Speaker of the Swedish Parliament

As part of his official visit to the Kingdom of Sweden, on the afternoon of June 12 (local time), at the Swedish Parliament House in Stockholm, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính had a meeting with Speaker of the Parliament Andreas Norlén and leaders of several political parties, including the Moderate Party, the Democrats, and the Liberals.
Welcoming Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, his spouse, and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on their official visit to Sweden, Speaker Andreas Norlén expressed his belief that the visit would contribute to further deepening the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden in the coming time.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính expressed his pleasure in meeting Speaker Andreas Norlén and thanked the Swedish Parliament and people for their warm and thoughtful reception for him and the Vietnamese delegation. He conveyed the greetings of General Secretary Tô Lâm, President Lương Cường, and Chairman of the National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn to Speaker Andreas Norlén and other senior Swedish leaders.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam always values and wishes to enhance its friendly and multi-faceted cooperative relations with Sweden. He recalled the memory of Prime Minister Olof Palme marching with a torch in protest of the war and in support of Vietnam, highlighting Sweden’s decision to establish relations with Vietnam as a courageous one, based on justice and conscience.

The Prime Minister noted that the Party, State, and people of Vietnam always remember Sweden’s noble acts, including the provision of around USD 3 billion in non-refundable aid—the highest among Nordic countries. These funds were meaningfully used for healthcare, education, and social welfare, with iconic projects such as the National Pediatric Hospital, Bãi Bằng paper mill, and the training of about 200 Vietnamese experts at Swedish universities. People-to-people exchanges between the two nations have also been close and natural.

He affirmed that this visit would create momentum to boost bilateral cooperation and elevate the Vietnam–Sweden relationship to a new level. The two sides can serve as bridges to develop ties with ASEAN and the EU. Amidst deep, complex, and unpredictable global changes, and challenges of a global, people-wide, and comprehensive nature that no country can address alone, the two leaders agreed that Vietnam and Sweden must strengthen solidarity and cooperation based on their traditional friendship—across party, government, parliamentary, and people-to-people channels—to promote multilateralism and international unity.

The Prime Minister assessed that Swedish enterprises still have much room for cooperation and investment expansion in Vietnam in strong fields such as artificial intelligence, information and communication technology, and semiconductors—especially as Vietnam is implementing new policies built around four pillars: institutions, science and technology, private economy, and international integration, all aiming to remove bottlenecks and attract more foreign investment for rapid and sustainable development.

He also proposed that the Swedish Parliament help advocate for the remaining EU member states to soon ratify the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and for the European Commission to lift the IUU “yellow card” on Vietnam’s seafood exports. Vietnam, in turn, will encourage its high-tech enterprises to invest in Sweden.

Addressing concerns from representatives of parliamentary parties about the situation in Vietnam, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính emphasized that the independence and freedom of the nation and the prosperity and happiness of the people are always the goals of the Vietnamese Party and State. Vietnam shares Sweden’s view that ensuring a prosperous, free, and happy life for the people is the highest form of democracy.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister also thanked Sweden for facilitating the integration of the Vietnamese community into Swedish society, recognizing their positive contributions to local socio-economic development and to bilateral relations.

Speaker Andreas Norlén affirmed that the two countries’ relations are developing well, including dialogue and cooperation between the two parliaments. He emphasized that Sweden was the first Western country to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam and is ready to cooperate in helping Vietnam achieve its goal of becoming a high-income developed nation by 2045.

The two sides also exchanged views on several international and regional issues of mutual concern, including the South China Sea. As maritime nations, both Vietnam and Sweden stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and security, as well as freedom of navigation and aviation, based on the rule of law—particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982)—and of resolving disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, without the use or threat of force.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính extended an invitation on behalf of National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn for Speaker Andreas Norlén to visit Vietnam. Speaker Norlén graciously accepted the invitation.