On 17 October 2026, a day before Vietnam’s free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was signed, our Managing Partner Marco Förster opened the Business Dialogue for the Swiss Presidential CEO delegation, 63 floors above Hanoi at Lotte Hotel. EFTA’s members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. His briefing, “Vietnam: Manufacturing anchor of the multipolar world”, set the scene for the afternoon.
Who was in the room
Few rooms bring together so much of Swiss industry at once. The delegation included leaders from economiesuisse, Swissmem, Swiss Medtech, scienceindustries, Swiss Textiles, SIFEM (Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets), SERV Swiss Export Risk Insurance, Kuehne+Nagel, MKS PAMP, Novartis, DKSH, Oerlikon and the Swissrail Industry Association, all in Vietnam to see the opportunity first-hand.
How Swiss companies make it work in Vietnam
Three company leaders then shared how they succeed on the ground:
- Binu Jacob, CEO of Nestlé Vietnam, on supplying both Vietnam and global markets from local supply chains
- Dr Jackson Woo, Managing Director of SGS Vietnam, on quality control as the ticket into global value chains
- Lina Yu, General Director of Schindler Vietnam, on scaling with Vietnam’s infrastructure and urban boom
A visit with momentum
The Business Dialogue was part of Swiss President Guy Parmelin’s official visit to Vietnam on 17 and 18 October 2026, at the invitation of General Secretary and President Tô Lâm, marking 55 years of diplomatic relations. Besides talks with Tô Lâm, the President met Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng and National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn, and the visit culminated in the signing of the free trade agreement on 18 October.
The business ties behind the visit are substantial: more than 100 Swiss companies already operate in Vietnam, and two-way trade has grown by an average of 7% a year over the past four years.
Thank you to Anja Fiedler and Switzerland Global Enterprise for leading the dialogue, to Tu Duong of the Embassy of Switzerland for the excellent moderation, and to Fabian Stiefvater of the Swiss Business Hub for the support. We hope the delegation enjoyed its time in Vietnam, including the Swiss-Viet Economic Forum Hanoi 2026, and look forward to welcoming everyone back soon.
Further reading
- Swiss President wraps up successful visit to Vietnam (Viet Nam News)
- EFTA and Vietnam sign free trade agreement (EFTA)
More from Stratburg
- On stage with Swiss President Parmelin: Marco Förster co-hosts the SVEF Hanoi 2026 opening
- Building at Vietnam speed: moderating the SVEF Hanoi 2026 infrastructure panel
- Stratburg consortium leads Swiss investment mission to Hai Phong
Planning a delegation or market visit to Vietnam? Get in touch.
