The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said
that Vietnam regrets the Swedish government’s decision to close its embassy in
Hanoi next year but Vietnam hopes that the two countries will continue
strengthening bilateral cooperation.

On December 22, the Swedish government announced that
during 2011 due to recent budget cuts, it would close five embassies around the
world, in Hanoi, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Brussels (Belgium), Kuala Lumpur
(Malaysia) and Luanda (Angola).

“This painful decision is a consequence of the recent
decision of the Riksdag to cut funding to the Government Offices by SEK 300
million (over $43 million),” said Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl
Bildt on www.sweden.gov.se.

According to newswire http://www.swedishwire.com, last year
the Swedish government decided to close its embassy in Colombo and the
consulates-general in Kaliningrad, Canton, Los Angeles and New York.

The website of the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi on December 23
posted the above announcement and the Swedish Ambassador’s message which
confirmed that Sweden will try its best to maintain and develop its 40-year
cooperative relationship with Vietnam.

The spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Nguyen Phuong Nga, on December 23 said that the Vietnamese government
regrets the Swedish government’s decision to close down its embassy in Hanoi and
other countries due to budget difficulties and Vietnam would create favorable
conditions for Sweden to re-open the embassy.

The Vietnamese government always attaches great importance
to the traditional and friendly relation between the two countries, she said.

“We hope that both sides will continue to boost bilateral
cooperation in the future through appropriate measures and forms to meet the two
countries’ aspirations and benefits,” she stressed.

The same day, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Staffan
Herrström told VietNamNet that the decision to close down the Swedish Embassy in
Vietnam will not influence the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Sweden.

He said that the embassy will still grant visas until the
time the embassy closes down in 2011.

He said that the people who want to visit Sweden can apply
for visa through the countries in Shengen block.

Sweden will grant visas through a representative country,
perhaps in Northern Europe.

X.Linh