Vietnam was the focal point of this year’s event, which attracted more than 1,500 participants. “ Vietnam is in the process of development but our country is still very poor. That is why we need assistance from friendly countries like Switzerland .” Khoan told Swiss press.

“ Switzerland has helped us integrate ourselves into the world economy and to understand more of the international market and the rules of the game. They are helping us prepare to join the WTO and we are very appreciative of this help,” he added.

Mr. Khoan also said that Swiss trade expertise has allowed Vietnam to prise open its export markets, as well as to become a more savvy player in the global economy. He hoped to attract more Swiss companies to start up operations in Vietnam and cited food giant, Nestlé, and cement producer, Holcim, as examples of Swiss firms that have taken advantage of Vietnam's “substantial human and natural resources”.

In her address to the conference, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey assured Vietnam of Switzerland’s continued support for the reform process. According to Swiss officials, development aid to Vietnam is having a positive economic impact on the fast-growing Southeast Asian country.

Adrian Schläpfer, assistant director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development, cited Vietnam ’s success as a prime example of the kind of reforms that encourage foreign investment. “ Vietnam is one of our major partner countries and we wanted to affirm our commitment to the country during this event. The policy environment in Vietnam is conducive to the kind of partnerships that we want… and we think we have things to offer, in the way of technical and intellectual know-how, that the Vietnamese are very receptive to,” said Schläpfer.

During his official visit to Switzerland , Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan also met Swiss Minister of Economic Affairs Joseph Deiss and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey for bilateral talks. The focus was on economic relations, development cooperation, bilateral political relations, multilateral cooperation, regional issues and environment protection. Also on the programme was a courtesy visit by Swiss President Pascal Couchepin.

Vietnam has been a priority country for Switzerland since 1995, with federal investment for development cooperation totalling SFr18 million ($12.8 million) in 2003. The bulk of that funding is directed towards developing urban governance and infrastructure, natural resource management and private sector development.

Private investment by Swiss companies and banks in Vietnam totalled SFr883 million in 2002. Switzerland is the fourth-largest European investor in Vietnam after France , Britain and the Netherlands .

D.H.