Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh (right) and Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, had talks on Wednesday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh on Wednesday affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches importance to strengthening the strategic partnership with Germany while receiving Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, who is on a visit to the Southeast Asian country.

The Deputy PM said Việt Nam looks forward to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Việt Nam in November which is expected to create a driving force for the further development of relations between the two countries.

He expressed his delight at the positive development in economic relations between the two nations. Currently, Germany is Việt Nam’s largest trading partner in Europe, while Việt Nam is Germany's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia and the sixth largest in Asia.

Minh noted that after taking effect for two years, the Europe Union – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has actively contributed to promoting economic cooperation between Việt Nam and the European Union, including Germany.

He cited statistics of the General Department of Việt Nam Customs that showed trade turnover between Việt Nam and Germany topped US$10 billion last year, up 11 per cent compared to 2020. The figure hit nearly $7.3 billion in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 18.5 per cent.

There are over 300 German enterprises doing business effectively in Việt Nam, including many large corporations such as Siemens, Mercedez, Adidas, Bosch and Braun. The total registered foreign direct investment of Germany in Việt Nam reached $2.3 billion with 417 valid projects as of January this year.

Deputy PM Minh suggested that Germany ratify the Europe Union – Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) early to further promote investment between Germany and Việt Nam and support the European Commission's early removal of the "yellow card" imposed on Vietnamese seafood.

He thanked Germany for making Việt Nam a global partner in the development cooperation strategy to 2030, focusing on the fields of environment, energy and vocational training; as well as Germany's important support for Việt Nam in the field of climate change response.

The Deputy PM said he hoped that as the presidency of the G7, Germany will help Việt Nam access green financial resources of the G7, international financial institutions and large private corporations for activities in response to climate change.

For his part, Flasbarth said he was impressed by Việt Nam’s socio-economic development achievements, the country's successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic and its positive growth rate.

He affirmed that Germany wishes to enhance cooperative relations with VIệt Nam in all fields as well as commits to accompanying Việt Nam to realise its commitments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and is ready to share experiences in the clean energy transition. — VNS