German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender will soon pay a state visit to Vietnam. On this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh gave an interview to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
In recent years, the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Germany has continued to deepen in many areas, especially since the official visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Vietnam in November 2022, recalled Ambassador Vu Quang Minh. Political trust has continued to be strengthened through contacts at all levels. Germany continued to be Vietnam’s largest trading partner in the European Union (EU) and the latter became Germany’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Bilateral trade reached more than $11 billion in 2023, according to Vietnam data.
As of December 31, 2023, there were 464 valid German direct investment projects in Vietnam, accumulating a total registered fund of $2.74 billion. Vietnam had 37 investment projects in force in Germany, totaling $283.3 million. The two countries successfully concluded the annual government negotiations on official development assistance (ODA), under which Germany committed to providing 61 million euros in non-repayable aid to Vietnam for the period 2024- 2025, an extremely encouraging result in the context of numerous difficulties in the German economy.
In addition, the two sides have recorded many remarkable achievements in cooperation, particularly in green development, energy transition and combating climate change. In addition, numerous activities in the fields of cultural diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges were organized in the two countries. Regarding the significance and importance of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s upcoming state visit to Vietnam, Ambassador Vu Quang Minh said that this will be President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s first foreign visit. Walter Steinmeier in 2024. This will also be the second visit by a German president to Vietnam in the history of relations between the two countries since German reunification, the first being that of President Horst Kohler to Vietnam in May 2007.
During his upcoming visit, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Germany’s flagship projects in Vietnam, those signed during his visit to Vietnam in 2008 as German Federal Foreign Minister. He will meet with Vietnamese leaders to discuss measures to further promote bilateral cooperation in many areas, as well as international issues of common concern. There will also be a round table between companies accompanying the German Federal President and German companies and economic organizations operating in Vietnam, Ambassador Vu Quang Minh said.
This article is originally published on fr.vietnamplus.vn
