German organization boosts cooperation with Vietnam
A framework agreement was signed in Hanoi on April 18 to acknowledge Germany’s Friedrich Elbert Stiftung (FES)’s assistance for Vietnam and boost cooperation between the two sides.
The agreement was signed by President of the Vietnam Unions of Friendship Associations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong and FES Representative in Vietnam Erwin Schweisshelm.
As one of the first foreign organisations to open a representative office in Vietnam, FES office made its debut on October 4, 1990 in accordance to a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Vietnamese government.
Over the years, FES has positively taken part in supporting Vietnam’s Renewal process and administration reforms as well as its open-door policy.
It has also helped improve capacity for Vietnamese public servants.
FES has built strong ties with various Vietnamese agencies and served as a bridge linking Nordrhein-Westfalen state of Germany with the Ministry of Justice and the Central Institute for Economic Management, as well as the Hamburg state and Bac Giang province.
FES is the first foreign non-governmental organisation to sign such agreement with Vietnam under the government’s new decree on the registration and operation of foreign NGOs in Vietnam, which was adopted in 2012.