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​SWISS - VIET 
ECONOMIC FORUM

HANOI 2026

October 18-20, 2026

Ha Noi, Viet Nam

3-DAY PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Theme: From Bilateral Strength to Regional Impact

 

Advancing Switzerland–Viet Nam Partnerships in a Connected Global Economy

Day 1: 18 October, 2026

VIP Reception &
Strategic Alignement

Day 2: 19 October, 2026

Main Forum Day

Day 3: 20 October, 2026

Field Visits &
Cultural Discovery

​DAY 2: 19 OCTOBER, 2026 
SVEF Main Forum Day

Venue: Melia Hotel (44B Ly Thuong Kiet)

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Day 2 is the centrepiece of the Forum - open to all registered delegates. It is framed as the platform that translates the FTA into concrete business action.

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08:30 (60 min) | Registration  & Welcome Coffee

Format: Networking

  • Delegate registration

  • Exhibition open

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09:30 (90 min) | Welcome & High Level Policy Dialogue

Format: Two Keynote Speeches & Moderated Panel

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THEME: OPENING THE DOOR: FROM FTA SIGNATURE TO MARKET OPPORTUNITY

  • Welcome address by SVEF Leader

  • Opening Keynotes: 'From Signature to Implementation - What the FTA Means for Business Today'

  • Vietnam’s growth ambitions and Swiss–Vietnamese cooperation

  • Regional integration and supply chain opportunities

  • Practical priorities for FTA implementation

  • Government and business action to deliver results

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Introduction: Ms. Rachel Isenschmid, Secretary General, SVEF

Welcome Remarks: Dr. Philipp Rösler, President, SVEF

 

Keynote Speakers:

  • H.E. Ms. Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretary, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

 

Moderator: Dr. Philipp Rösler, President, SVEF

 

Panelists:

  • Ms. Anja Fiedler, CEO, Switzerland Global Enterprises (S-GE)

  • Ms. Mariam J.Sherman, Country Director for Viet Nam, Cambodia and Lao PDR, World Bank

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11:00 (60 min) | Session I - Industrial Transformation & Supply Chains

Format: Keynote + Panel + case studies

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THEME: BUILDING SMART MANUFACTURING, RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAINS AND SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS IN THE POST-FTA ERA

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  • High-value manufacturing & industrial upgrading

  • Smart manufacturing & Industry 4.0

  • Supply chain resilience & diversification

  • Precision engineering & advanced manufacturing

  • Technology transfer & industrial innovation

  • ESG & sustainable production

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Moderator: Ms. Quyen Nguyen, Center Co-Head of Smart Manufacturing and Global Value Chain, HCMC C4IR

 

Keynote Speaker: Ambassador Pietro Lazzeri, Head of the Economic Cooperation and Development, SECO

 

Panelists:

  • Mr. Martin Hirzel, CEO, Swissmem

  • Mr. Khuat Quang Hung, Director of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Nestlé Vietnam

  • Ms. Nguyen Thuy Lam Tuyen, General Director, Board Chairwoman and Country Holding Officer, ABB Vietnam

  • Dr. Jackson Woo, Managing Director, SGS

  • Dr. Sumeet Gupta, Regional President APAC, Oerlikon

  • Ms. Lê Đinh, Regional Representative, Sedex Vietnam

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12:00 (90 min) | Lunch Break​​

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  • Business Lunch & Executive Networking

  • Curated bilateral table conversations​​

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13:30 (60 min) | Session II - Finance & Investment Ecosystems

Format:Keynote + Panel

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THEME:   FROM CAPITAL TO GROWTH: CAPITAL MARKETS, INVESTMENT FLOWS & FINANCIAL CONNECTIVITY

  • Capital market development and investor confidence

  • Financial centres, cross-border finance and digital innovation

  • Financing business growth and supply chain participation

  • Swiss–Vietnamese partnerships in investment, expertise and talent

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Moderator: Mr. Brook Taylor, Chief Executive Officer - Asset Management and Executive Director, VinaCapital

 

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Chair of the Board of Directors, Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM)

 

Panelists:

  • Mr. Reto Marx, CEO Singaore, Sygnum

  • Ms. Tra Nguyen Zbonski, Managing Director

  • Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Trung, President, Ho Chi Minh University of Banking

  • Ms. Ly Nguyen, Manager, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI)

  • Mr. Siva Krishnan, Chief Risk Officier, Techcombank

  • Representative, State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC)

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14:30 (30 min) | Coffee Break​​​​​​

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​15:00 (60 min) | Afternoon Parallel Sessions - Round 1

Format: Three focused sessions run in parallel. Delegates choose one.

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SESSION A:  MOBILITY & TRADE CONNECTIVITY 

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  • Smart logistics & multimodal transportation

  • Regional connectivity between Europe & ASEAN

  • Infrastructure investment & PPP models

  • Urban mobility & smart cities

  • High-speed rail development

  • Ports, airports & trade corridors

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Moderator: Mr. Marco Förster, Ha Noi Representative, SVEF

 

Keynote Speaker: to be confirmed

 

Panelists:

  • Mr. Benoit De Quillaq, Managing Director, MSC

  • Mr. Thomas Rechsteiner, Vice President/Operations Director, Linxon

  • Ms. Lina Yu, CEO, Schindler Vietnam

  • Ms. Noelle Meier, Lead Public Affairs, Swissrails

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SESSION B:  ENERGY TRANSITION & GREEN FINANCE

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  • Renewable energy investment

  • Green finance & blended finance

  • Carbon markets & carbon credits

  • Energy transition technologies

  • Climate resilience & ESG

  • Swiss cleantech solutions for Vietnam

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Moderator: to be confirmed

 

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Vo Hoang Hai, Deputy CEO, Nam A Bank

 

Panelists:

  • Mr. Marco Appolloni, Senior Vice President, GE Vernova

  • Mr. Carsten Böhler, Head of Project Finance & Infrastructure, SERV

  • Mr. Werner Groenendijk, Chief Finance and Investment Officer, Vin Energo

  • Mr. Madhav Joshi, Head of ELDS Factory, ABB Vietnam

  • Mr. Nguyen Duy Giang, Deputy Director General and CFO, PV Power

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SESSION C:  INNOVATION, AI & DIGITAL ECONOMY 

  • AI commercialisation

  • Deep-tech ecosystems

  • Venture capital

  • Research commercialisation

  • Start-up scaling

  • Technology transfer

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Moderator: Mr. Nguyen Van Chuong, Program Manager in Da Nang, Vietnam, Swiss Entrepreneurship Program (Swiss EP)

 

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trung Dung, CEO, BK Holdings

 

Panelists:

  • Prof. Dr. Harald Gall, Dean of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics, University of Zurich

  • Mr. Markus Baur, CEO, Axon Active

  • Ms. Ny Bui, Director, Sales and Customer Experience, Datbike

  • Mr. Jonathan McGuinness, AI Pathfinder, 4th-IR (Zug)

  • Mr. Jay Shah, Vice President of Business Development, Moxo

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16:15 - 17:15 |  Afternoon Parallel Session - Round 2​

Format: Three focused sessions run in parallel. Delegates choose one.

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SESSION D:  SHAPING THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE 

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  • Patient access with quality & transparency

  • Leverage EFTA for market access

  • Healthcare innovation scaling

  • Advance Swiss-Vietnamese partnerships

  • Agile & consistent healthcare regulation

  • Regulatory Knowledge Exchange

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Moderator: Dr. Philipp Rösler, President, SVEF

 

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Stefan P.Butz, CEO, DKSH

 

Tentative Panelists:

  • Mr. Burak Pekmezci, General Manager, Roche Pharma

  • Mr. Charaf Kadri, Vice President, Healthcare, DKSH Vietnam

  • Mr. Jondy Syjuco, Country President, Novartis

  • Mr. Ricky He, General Manager, Roche Diagnostics

  • Representative, VIMDA

  • Representative, Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV)

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SESSION E:  EDUCATION COOPERATION & TALENT DEVELOPMENT

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  • Higher education & international partnerships

  • Vocational education & workforce development

  • Applied research & innovation

  • Talent mobility & academic exchange

  • Industry-academia collaboration

  • Future skills & lifelong learning

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Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marcus Wittner, Founding Partner, Contagi Group

 

Moderator: Mr. An Mai, CEO, IMT Solutions

 

Panelists:

  • Mr. Anatolijus Fourarcre, CEO, SPS Viet Nam

  • Mr. Hoang Viet Ha, President, FPT University

  • Ms. Hanh Nguyen, Country Representative, The Dariu Foundation

  • Ms. Van Dang, CEO, Savycom

  • Prof. Max von Zedtwitz, Ph.D , Strategy and Managing Director, SGI Institute of Management in Asia (Singapore), University of St. Gallen

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SESSION F:  LEGAL FRAMEWORKS & MARKET ENTRY

  • Market entry & investment strategies

  • Legal structures & corporate governance

  • Regulatory compliance & investment facilitation

  • Intellectual property & technology transfer

  • Arbitration & dispute resolution

  • Cross-border business partnerships

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Moderator: Mr. Roger Leitner, Board Member, Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce

 

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Lutz Christoph Koch, Managing Director Hanoi, RÖDL

 

Panelists:

  • Mr. Fabian Stiefvater, Hub Leader of SBH South East Asia and Pacific, SBH

  • Prof. Dr. Le Hong Hanh, Chairman, Vietnam International Arbitration Center

  • Kevin Trinh Vu, Head of Asia Pacific Support, Endress+Hauser

  • Mr. Huynh Cong Thang, Co-Founder, Chairman, InnoLab Asia

  • Mr. Phung Anh Tuan, Managing Director, VCI Legal

  • Mr. Luu Hoang Long, Director General, Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (to be confirmed)

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​​​​​17:30 - 18:15 | Closing Plenary — From Dialogue to Action

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THEME:   WHAT WE BUILD TOGETHER: THE POST-FTA BILATERAL AGENDA

 

  • First commitments with the FTA in place what Swiss and Vietnamese companies are prepared to do

  • Key takeaways and outputs from all Forum sessions

  • MoU Signing Ceremony: formalisation of bilateral agreements and partnerships

  • SVEF Cooperation Roadmap 2026–2030: task forces, milestones, and accountability

  • Closing remarks by SVEF leadership and senior Vietnamese government representative

 

Speakers & Co-lead to be updated

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18:15 | Networking Dinner​​​

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ORGANIZERS

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Swiss Embassy

​CO-HOSTS

CONTACT US

Switzerland Office: Trust Square, Rennweg 57, Zurich-8001, Switzerland

​VietNam Office: Vian Tower, 26 Street 40, Thao Dien Ward Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

+41 76 592 88 56

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