Vietnam looks to foster strategic partnership with Germany

High-level talks were held between President Vo Van Thuong and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier immediately after the welcome ceremony with a 21-gun salute for the latter held in Hanoi on January 23.

President Vo Van Thuong warmly welcomed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's state visit to Vietnam, which he said, will create motivation for the comprehensive enhancement of the Vietnam - Germany strategic partnership for the benefit of the two peoples, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the wider world.

​In response, the Germany President displayed his impression of Vietnam's dynamic socio-economic development, while emphasizing that over the past 50 years, the close-knit relations and mutual trust between the two countries have been constantly strengthened and developed.

He affirmed his nation’s desire to augment all-around cooperation with Vietnam, especially in the fields of trade - investment, energy transition, labor and vocational training, development cooperation, as well as close coordination to contribute to peace and regional and global cooperation issues.

In its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of international relations, Vietnam always attaches importance and prioritizes developing relations with Germany, Thuong told his guest.

On this occasion, he thanked the State, Government and people of Germany for supporting Vietnam in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating the friendship and solidarity between the two countries, and helping the nation repel the pandemic and soon open its doors for socio-economic development and recovery.

Host and guest discussed major orientations and measures to further deepen the Vietnam - Germany strategic partnership, as well as comparing notes on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The two leaders noted with satisfaction the strong developments of Vietnam-Germany relations over the past five decades, especially since the two countries established a strategic partnership.

They said that believe that the political trust between the two countries will be increasingly strengthened through the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, and close coordination at multilateral forums.

For many years, Germany has always been Vietnam's leading economic partner in Europe and Vietnam is currently one of the European nation's largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.

Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 reached approximately US$12 billion, a 3-fold increase over the past 10 years. Germany is the fourth largest investor among EU countries investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

In order to promote the foundation of sound relations and fully tap great potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Germany, the two sides agreed to further consolidate political trust through delegation exchanges, high-level contacts at all levels, and effective implementation of  bilateral cooperation mechanisms , including strategic dialogue, joint committee on economic cooperation, government consultation on development cooperation, dialogue on the rule of law, and effective coordination in realizing Vietnam - Germany strategic action plan for the 2023 – 2025 period.

Both leaders were glad to see that the two countries' cooperation in education and training has achieved many positive results, especially the Vietnamese-German University, a symbolic project of bilateral relations, which is operating effectively.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier voiced his hope that the two sides will go ahead with closer coordination, making it possible for the University develop successfully, especially attracting more and more Vietnamese students.

President Thuong asked Germany to continue supporting the training of high-quality human resources for Vietnam, and backing the Vietnam-German University's efforts to expand and improve operational efficiency.

In the economic field, the two sides consented to continue to fully and effectively implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thus creating favorable conditions for each country's key products to access their respective markets.

The German President affirmed that Vietnam is a reliable economic partner and wishes to bolster economic cooperation with Vietnam, especially in investment.

President Vo Van Thuong asked Germany to soon complete procedures for ratifying the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) yellow card warning against Vietnamese seafood.

The Vietnamese State leader thanked Germany for its support to Vietnam in development cooperation over the past 3 decades, positively contributing to the nation's socio-economic development, while requesting Germany to continue to provide ODA funding to Vietnam in the fields of energy, the environment and vocational training.

With regard to climate change response, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier assured his readiness to support Vietnam with technology, experts and finance in implementing the just energy transition partnership (JETP) framework to contribute to implementing the commitments on emissions reduction to zero by 2050 that Vietnam made at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
The two sides concurred to strengthen cooperation in security - defence, science - technology, justice, and agriculture, intensify cultural exchange activities as a contribution to deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany in 2025.

Thuong said he hopes that Germany will continue to pay attention and create optimal conditions for the Vietnamese community in Germany to live stably, continue to serve as a bridge making positive contributions to the friendship between the two countries.

The German President affirmed that the 200,000 Vietnamese community in Germany has successfully integrated and contributed positively to the local society.

The two countries agreed to coordinate and support each other at regional and multilateral forums such as the ASEAN-Germany, ASEAN-EU, and United Nations cooperation frameworks.

​Concerning the East Sea issue, the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, resolving disputes by peaceful measures in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They also voiced support for substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) negotiations between ASEAN and China.

After the talks, President Vo Van Thuong and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement on migrant labor between the Vietnam Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.