During a reception for Altmaier in Hanoi on March 25, PM Phuc suggested that the German side strengthen investment cooperation with Vietnam, especially in infrastructure and energy development projects, as well as university-level education.
The two sides need to focus on measures to promote the two-way trade turnover on the basis of their potential, he said, adding that Vietnam hopes Germany will officially sign and adopt the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
He thanked the German government’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam, while appreciating the cooperation between German states and Vietnamese localities alongside the European country’s loosening of legal conditions for receiving Vietnamese labourers to work in Germany.
Altmaier, for his part, highlighted the potential for the two countries to expand their cooperation, adding that Germany wishes to enhance its friendship with Vietnam.
Germany wants to develop artificial intelligence, digitalisation, and startups in Vietnam, he said, affirming that his country is willing to invite Vietnamese firms to join Germany’s SME renovation programme.
Altmaier stressed that his country is ready to cooperate with Vietnam in renewable energy development and education and training.
In his response, PM Phuc said that the country is also promoting technology development amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He said that Germany’s ODA-funded projects have made important contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development, expressing his hope that the German government will continue to provide ODA capital for Vietnam in the process.
The Vietnamese leader said Altmaier’s visit to Vietnam is an important event towards enhancing the relations between the two countries.
Germany is now the largest trade partner of Vietnam in the European Union (EU) in particular and Europe in general, with their two-way trade recording impressive growth in recent years. Many German firms are now successfully operating in Vietnam.
The same day, Politburo member and head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh also hosted a reception for the German Minister, during which the host stressed that Vietnam attaches importance to the strategic partnership with Germany and hopes the two sides will further tighten bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of economy, trade and investment.
Politburo member Binh expressed his wish that Germany and other member countries of the European Union (EU) will support the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. This will mark a very significant progress in the realisation of the EU’s Europe – Asia connection strategy and acceleration of the Vietnam – Germany in particular, Binh stressed.
The official described the inauguration and commissioning of the German House in Ho Chi Minh City as a bridge linking German enterprises with their Vietnamese partners, as well as with those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), thus contributing to the strengthening of the trade and investment cooperation.
For his part, Minister Peter spoke highly of Vietnam’s recent socio-economic achievements. He also affirmed that his country stands ready to cooperate with Vietnam in the fields of its strength and suitable to the latter’s development priority such as supporting industry, tourism infrastructure, vocational training and environment, as well as to continue pushing up bilateral major cooperation projects
Source: nhandan.org.vn