Berlin (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh hashighlighted the growing relationship between Vietnam and Germany during aninterview granted to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of the state visit to theSoutheast Asian nation by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his spouse fromJanuary 23-24.

The strategic partnership between Vietnam and Germany has developedsubstantively across multiple fields in recent times, especially after PrimeMinister Olaf Scholz’s official visit to Vietnam in November 2022, AmbassadorMinh said.

Political trust has been enhanced through meetings at all levels, he said.

2023 alone saw more than 40 working trips to Germany undertaken by deputyministers, and deputy heads of people’s committees of Vietnamese localities.

Meanwhile, many heads of German states andbusiness leaders paid visits to Vietnam in 2022 and 2023. Most recently, theMinister-Presidents of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) and Thuringia visitedVietnam, with a record number of up to 50-70 businesses taking part in each.

Frameworks implementing economic diplomacyhave been strengthened and expanded. Despite economic difficulties, Germanyagreed to grant 61 million EUR in non-refundable aid to Vietnam for the2024-2025 period. The two sides held the second session of the Joint Committeefor Economic Cooperation. Many Vietnamese businesses resumed promotionactivities and attended trade fairs in Germany. Both sides worked to ease difficultiesto promote the implementation of Germany’s ‘lighthouse’ projects in Vietnam.

Germany is Vietnam’s largest tradingpartner in the European Union (EU), while Vietnam is Germany’s largest tradingpartner in Southeast Asia.

Bilateral trade hit more than 11 billion USD last year (according to dataunveiled by Vietnam) and 17.12 billion USD as of November 2023 (according tothe Federal Statistical Office of Germany - Destatis).

As of the end of 2023, there had been 464 valid projects invested by Germany inVietnam with a total registered capital of 2.74 billion USD. Vietnam invested 283.3million USD in 37 projects in Germany.

Minh highlighted that important gains have been recorded in bilateralcooperation in other fields such as green development, energy transition andclimate change response. Germany has continued to provide support for Vietnamto implement its commitments within the framework of the Just Energy TransitionPartnership (JETP), and businesses of the two countries have proactively seizedcooperation opportunities in this field.

Besides, many important resulted have been recorded in cultural diplomacy andpeople-to-people exchanges, through a series of activities held in bothcountries’ localities, helping to popularise cultures and promote mutualunderstanding.

It’s noteworthy that the Federation ofVietnamese Associations in Germany was established at a congress held in Berlinlate last year. The federation is expected to connect and unite allindividuals, organisations and associations of Vietnamese people, acting as abridge to further promote the friendship between the two peoples.

Ambassador Minh said the coming visit to Vietnam by German PresidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier is of great significance as it is his first overseas tripin 2024 and is also the first exchange of high-level delegations between thetwo countries in 2024 - a pivotal year towards the 50th anniversary of the diplomaticties in 2025.

Notably, he visited Vietnam in October2016 in his capacity as Vice Chancellor of Germany, and in March 2008 when he wasForeign Minister of Germany. Visiting Vietnam this time, he will have thechance to inspect German invested lighthouse projects signed during his 2008visit.

During his stay in Vietnam, President Steinmeieris scheduled to meet with senior Vietnamese leaders to discuss measures tofurther promote Vietnam – Germany cooperation in multiple fields as well as toexchange views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

High on the agenda will be economic andtrade cooperation between Vietnam and Germany. President Steinmeier will beaccompanied by a group of large German businesses operating in variousindustries.

According to Ambassador Minh, Vietnam has become a leading attractivedestination for German businesses. Renewable energy, green transition andsustainable development, manufacturing industry, services, logistics, andeducation are priority areas of cooperation of both sides. A seminar isexpected to take place between businesses accompanying the President and Germanbusinesses plus German business organisations operating in Vietnam.
 
An area of both sides’ interest is cooperation in vocational training andbringing Vietnamese skilled workers to work in Germany amidst serious labourshortages in the European country. A Letter of Intent on labour cooperation isexpected to be signed on the occasion, Minh said./.