Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Source: VNA)The German President spoke highly of the achievementsVietnam has made during its socio-economic development, confirming that Germanyalways attaches importance to consolidating and developing its friendship andcooperation with Vietnam – a partner with an increasingly important role in theAsia-Pacific region.
Both sides expressed their delight at positive growth in thebilateral relations in the fields of politics-diplomacy, trade, investment,development cooperation, education-training, labour-vocational training, andscience-technology.
Germany has been Vietnam’s leading trade partner in theEuropean Union for years, with two-way trade reaching 9 billion USD last year.It is also the fifth biggest EU investor in Vietnam with a total registeredcapital of 1.4 billion USD.
President Steinmeier said that there is great potential forbilateral cooperation, considering a free trade agreement between Vietnam andthe EU is about to be signed and the German House in Ho Chi Minh City will beput into use in the third quarter of 2017.
PM Phuc expressed his hope that Germany will encourage itsbusinesses to intensify investments in Vietnam, especially the fields that ithas strength and Vietnam has demand such as processing, manufacturing, cleanenergy, and food industry.
The PM pledged that Vietnam will create as open andfavourable environment for foreign investors, including those from Germany.
The two leaders agreed to make joint efforts to turn theVietnam-Germany University into a leading training and research establishmentin Vietnam and the region, in order to train internationally-recognisedengineers who can meet Vietnam’s development requirements in the fourthindustrial revolution.
They reached a consensus on boosting technology transfer andcooperation in fields of Germany’s strength such as wind power, informationtechnology and communications, and manufacturing.
Discussing several regional and international issues ofshared concern with Phuc, President Steinmeier affirmed that Germany supportsmaritime freedom in the East Sea, and the settlement of disputes by peacefulmeans on the basis of international law, especially the United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea 1982 and the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the East Sea.-VNA
VNA
