(VOVWORLD) - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife will pay a State visit to Vietnam on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong. The visit will highlight bilateral ties and create momentum for a stronger Vietnam-Germany Strategic Partnership.
 Vietnam and Germany established diplomatic ties on September 23, 1975 (Photo: Vietnam+) |
This is the first visit to Vietnam by a German President in 15 years and follows Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit in November 2022. President Steinmeier will also be the first European leader to visit Vietnam this year.
A comprehensive, effective strategic partnership
Vietnam and Germany established diplomatic relations on September 23, 1975. During Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Vietnam in October 2011, bilateral ties were upgraded to a strategic partnership. Since then, the friendship and cooperation between the two countries has developed steadily, becoming more extensive, effective, and comprehensive.
Germany continues to be Vietnam's largest trading partner in the European Union, and Vietnam is Germany's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Two-way trade has increased rapidly, reaching 12.6 billion USD in 2022, up 12% from 2021. Germany is the 18th largest investor among 143 countries and territories invested in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of nearly 2.7 billion USD.
7,000 Vietnamese students are studying in Germany. The Vietnamese-German University project, supported by the German government and the state of Hessen, has trained high-quality human resources for Vietnam. 200,000 Vietnamese people in Germany have made practical contributions to Germany’s socio-economic development and bilateral relations.
Vietnam and Germany are both active, responsible members of the international community and share many core values, concerns, and strategic interests. They have worked closely at international forums, including the UN, the G20, the Asia-Europe Economic Cooperation Forum (ASEM) and the G7. The two countries cooperated effectively when they were non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. In 2022, as President of the G7, Germany promoted the selection of Vietnam as a just energy transition partner. Germany was recently re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term along with Vietnam, creating new opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
 German President Frank- Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender (Photo: German Embassy) |
New cooperation opportunities
President Steinmeier’s visit to Vietnam will open new opportunities for bilateral cooperation. With Vietnam’s economy recovering strongly compared to other countries and bilateral trade and investment growing steadily, the Vietnamese market is attractive to German businesses and investors.
The two countries have a strong potential to expand cooperation in education, vocational training, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and manufacturing. Vietnam has many natural resources, abundant solar and wind energy, and a long coastline – favorable conditions for cooperation with German energy companies with modern technology and a capacity to develop clean, wind, solar, and hydrogen power.
Germany is accelerating the transition to clean, renewable energy, and developing new technologies in the energy field. Germany’s green and digital technologies and Vietnam's COP26 commitment to environmental protection are favorable factors for their continued cooperation.