Berlin (VNA) – A delegationof Vietnamese enterprises has engaged in business matching and trade promotion eventsin Germany as part of the national trade promotion programme 2023.

On October 5, an economic cooperationconference and a business matching programme were held in Berlin by the VietnamTrade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), the German Embassy and the Delegation of GermanIndustry and Commerce Vietnam (AHK Vietnam).

Addressing over 50 delegates from associations, trade and investment promotionorganisations, and enterprises of both countries, Volker Treier, Chief Executiveof Foreign Trade at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce(DIHK), said economic and trade partnerships between the two countries haveobtained numerous positive results over the past years, especially since the EU- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into force.

German businesses have created about50,000 jobs in Vietnam, and counting, showing the huge potential of theVietnamese market for German firms which are working to expand and diversifytheir markets and supply chains.

Potential cooperation areas include renewable energy and vocational training, hesaid, noting that vocational training helps attract workers from Vietnam to solvethe shortage of skilled manpower in the European country.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany VuQuang Minh said the countries’ strategic partnership has been flourishing inall fields and at all levels for the last 12 years, helping raise bilateraltrade by over two-fold and turn Germany into a highly important investor inVietnam.

The two economies are complementaryto each other and boast substantial cooperation potential. German businesses workingin Vietnam also have opportunities to access other markets thanks to manyregional cooperation frameworks Vietnam has signed, he continued.

Minh called on enterprises of bothcountries to capitalise on opportunities to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.He also expressed his hope that Germany and Vietnam can sign a frameworkagreement on labour cooperation soon to strengthen ties in this field.

VietradeDirector Vu Ba Phu said trade and investment activities have become brightspots of bilateral relations in recent years. The two sides have also inkedmany deals to provide a legal basis for economic cooperation.

Germany is the largest tradingpartner of Vietnam in Europe as it accounts for nearly 20% of Vietnam’s exportsto the EU. It also serves as an important gateway for Vietnamese goods to enterother European markets, he noted.

Phu affirmed Vietrade’s readiness tocoordinate with German authorities to assist the countries’ businesses to seekpartners and boost cooperation. He also suggested some measures for improvingtrade and investment promotion activities of both sides.

Lateron October 5, the visiting delegation attended a business matching programme atthe Vietnamese community’s Dong Xuan trade centre in Berlin.

Chu Tuan Duc, Minister Counsellor ofthe Vietnamese Embassy in Germany, highlighted the countries’ enormous cooperationpotential and called on Vietnamese firms to tap into current advantages toenter the German market.

He considered the about 200,000 Vietnamese people with many successfulcompanies in Germany an important bridge for enterprises from the SoutheastAsian nation to access this market./.