Việt Nam and Germany want to further co-operate in the fields of trade and industry, energy, vocational training and recruitment of skilled workers. — Photo moit.gov.vn

BERLIN — Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Trần Tuấn Anh and German Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier co-chaired the first meeting of the joint committee for economic co-operation between the two countries which took place virtually on Tuesday.

The Việt Nam-Germany joint committee for economic co-operation was established to identify possible areas for enhanced co-operation and remove obstacles for companies from the respective host country, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI) said in a press release.

In addition to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting focused its discussions on trade and industry, energy, vocational training and recruitment of skilled workers.

Speaking at the event, Altmaier said Việt Nam and Germany have long been linked by a close and strong partnership which both sides want to further advance through the meeting.

The EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which entered into force in August last year has provided significant impetus for intensifying the bilateral trade relations, he noted.

He further emphasised that the exchange between the two countries is more important than ever in the current COVID-19 crisis because only open markets and free trade can make it possible for the two sides to overcome the crisis and get the economies going again more quickly.

According to the BMWI, the special interest of the German economy in strengthening co-operation with Việt Nam was shown by the participation of a number of leaders of business associations and major corporations, such as Andreas Schick, chairman of the Việt Nam committee at the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV) and a member of Schaeffler AG’s Executive Board; and Joe Kaeser, President and ECO of Siemens AG and Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business.

Việt Nam – Germany trade in goods has quadrupled over the last 10 years with Germany now being Việt Nam’s largest trade partner in the EU. — VNS