German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. — VNA/VNS Photo

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s official visit to Việt Nam from November 13-14 will open up a new chapter in the two countries’ friendship and cooperation, showing the joint commitment and determination to lift the ties to a new height. 

The statement was made by Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vũ Quang Minh in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Berlin on the threshold of the visit.

Minh said that the visit is of great significance to the bilateral relationship, as Việt Nam and Germany have successfully implemented their Strategic Partnership Agreement over the past decade as well as gained great achievements in economic and trade cooperation after more than two years of enforcing the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

This is also the first high-level visit between the two countries since Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc's trip to Germany in 2017.

Olaf Scholz’s visit also demonstrates Germany's growing interest in and the importance it attaches to Southeast Asia, particularly Việt Nam - a reliable and stable partner of Germany in the region and the world, he added.

The diplomat stated that on this occasion, Việt Nam and Germany will officially approve an Action Plan for 2023-2024 to promote the bilateral Strategic Partnership, and put forward a long-term vision for the ties from now to 2030 and beyond.

The two sides will also have in-depth discussions on measures to promote bilateral cooperation in important areas such as sustainable development, climate change response, energy transition, green and renewable energy development, vocational training and education, information technology, manufacturing, agricultural product processing and chemicals.

Germany remains Việt Nam’s biggest trade partner in the European Union, while Việt Nam has risen to become Germany’s largest trade partner in Southeast Asia.

Over a decade after the establishment of the bilateral strategic partnership, two-way trade has doubled. It hit US$9.45 billion in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 16.7 per cent, according to Việt Nam’s statistics.

As of the end of May this year, Germany had 426 valid investment projects worth $2.31 billion in Việt Nam, while Việt Nam had 36 projects in Germany with total registered capital of $283.3 million. 

Ambassador Minh noted that the two countries' economies are highly complementary, and the challenges facing them are opening up new opportunities for cooperation.

Việt Nam is currently considered by German businesses and investors as a reliable partner and a leading attractive market to shift their investment and trade or strengthen economic-trade relations.

He affirmed that, with the 2023-2024 Action Plan and other important frameworks, on the basis of great achievements in bilateral cooperation over the past time, Việt Nam and Germany are seeing a golden opportunity to further promote cooperation in many fields, bringing the strategic partnership to a new height, not only in politics and security but also in economics, trade, science and technology, education and training, vocational training and labour cooperation. — VNS