(VOVworld) – Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter is in Hanoi for an official visit at the invitation of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. During talks on Tuesday, the Swiss diplomat said that his country desired more effective and stronger cooperation with Vietnam.

The two sides agreed to increase visit exchanges, continue to implement political dialogue mechanisms between the two foreign ministries, and coordinate activities to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations in 2016. They agreed to boost negotiations for an FTA between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Area, which will expand trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

They agreed to continue supporting each other at multilateral institutions such as the UN, ASEM, and UNESCO. Vietnam welcomed Switzerland’s efforts to increase cooperation with ASEAN and hoped that specific cooperative activities would be deployed as a foundation for the establishment of a partnership between Switzerland and ASEAN. They expressed their concerns over recent developments in the East Sea and stressed the need to ensure peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in line with international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).