The delegation, headed byPresident of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Nguyen Thien Nhan, metwith German parliamentarians with a view of deepening the two countries’strategic partnership.
At meetings with Vice President ofthe Bundestag Edelgard Bulmahn and Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentarygroup in the Budestag Volker Kauder, the two sides affirmed therelationship between Vietnam and Germany has progressed over the pastfour decades, especially after the formation of the strategicpartnership in 2011.
The Germans appreciatedVietnam’s socio-economic achievements in the past 40 years as presentedby the Vietnamese delegation, including progress in economicdevelopment, education and health as well as improvements to thepolitical system with the VFF gaining increased supervision and socialcriticism.
The two sides also discussed measures toboost bilateral trade, including how to increase Germany’s investmentinto Vietnam.
They said they believed that thetotal trade volume, currently reaching nearly 8 billion USD andaccounting for three percent of Vietnam’s total trade, will continuerising in the future.
They admitted that Germany’sinvestment into Vietnam is still modest and falls short of its potentialas does the bilateral political relationship.
VicePresident Bulmahn raised concerns of German enterprises causing them tohesitate to invest in Vietnam, which Nhan pledged to report to theVietnamese Government in order to seek suitable solutions to increasingconfidence in pouring capital into Vietnam.
Anotheraspect discussed during the meetings was cooperation in culture andmutual understanding between the two countries.
They also touched on human rights, freedom of religion and the East Sea issue.
Vietnam and Germany agreed to coordinate to promote each country’srole and increase German participation in the development of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in particular and Asia ingeneral.
The German side expressed their hope thatthe Vietnam-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) would besigned this year, facilitating Vietnam’s participation in the EU market.
During the meeting with Rolf Rosenbrock, Chairmanof the German Federation of Social Equality, the same day, the twosides talked about welfare services, especially for vulnerable groups.
Germany currently has a high demand for a workforce to care for the elderly.
Vietnam and Germany had initially strong cooperation on the field withVietnam sending 100 orderlies to Germany; the two sides agreed toensure the workers are well-trained to expand the cooperation.-VNA