During a meeting with Vice President of theGerman Bundestag (Parliament) Hans-Peter Friedrich in Berlin, Minh spoke highlyof the effective cooperation between the Vietnamese and German legislatureswithin bilateral and multilateral frameworks as well as the exchange ofhigh-level visits to raise mutual understanding about legislation andsupervision, decision making on the country’s important issues, thus furtherdeepening the bilateral strategic partnership.
Hailing the German Bundestag and the German-ASEANParliamentary Friendship Group in the Bundestag for closely monitoringthe East Sea situation, he proposed Germany to continue raising strong voice insupport of Vietnam and ASEAN’s legitimate stance on the peaceful settlement ofdisputes in line with international law, especially the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), refraining from use of force, fulland effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC)in the East Sea towards early formulation of a Code of Conduct (COC) in theEast Sea.
Minh took thisoccasion to suggest the German Bundestag continue support the provision ofofficial development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam.
Friedrich, forhis part, expressed his satisfaction about the growing ties between the twolaw-making agencies and wished that the Vietnam – Germany strategic partnershipwill further thrive.
The two officialshighlighted the importance of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA) and agreed to prompt the EU to soon sign and approve the deal for theinterest of the business communities of both nations.
They also sharedthe important role of multilateral mechanisms and respect for international lawin maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world as well.
During a workingsession on February 20 with German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs andEnergy Peter Altmaier, Minh lauded Germany as the top trade partner of Vietnamin the European Union and welcomed German investors in Vietnam.
He highlightedhuge potential of German investment in Vietnam compared to 1.97 billion USD at present.
Minh thanked theGerman government for providing Vietnam with ODA over the past years, affirmingthat Germany’s ODA-funded projects have made important contributions toVietnam’s socio-economic development.
The Vietnameseofficial also sought the European country’s assistance in vocational training,climate change adaptation, garbage treatment and projects in service of thefourth industrial revolution.
Altmaierexpressed high appreciation for potential of bilateral economic, trade andinvestment ties, Vietnam’s position in regional and global economicconnectivity. He vowed to work with Vietnam on ODA-funded projects to meet thetwo nations’ development demand.
He said the Deutsches Haus (German House) in HoChi Minh City will soon be inaugurated and spoke highly of Vietnam nurses whowere sent to Germany under a joint nurse training project.
The ministerpledged to continue assisting Vietnam in vocational training projects andwished to increase the number of skilled Vietnamese workers in Germany in thenear future.
He expressed his interestin establishing the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam, consideringit an effective bridge between the two countries’ business communities.
Both sides agreedto boost two-way trade as Vietnam and the EU are about to sign the EVFTA. TheGerman side also promised to step up the signing of the deal.
In order to encourageinvestment by German small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam, especially infields of Germany’s strength such as support industry, food, pharmaceuticals,medical equipment, tourism, vocational training, renewable energy, theystressed the need to facilitate the exchange of visits, especially amongministries and businesses joining exhibitions and fairs.-VNA