Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng had talks with State Secretary of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office Andreas Michaelis in Berlin on April 3. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Hùng

BERLIN — Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng and State Secretary of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office Andreas Michaelis co-chaired the seventh Việt Nam-German strategic dialogue in Berlin on April 3 to discuss measures to boost bilateral cooperation as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.

At the dialogue, Hằng affirmed that Việt Nam always attached importance to its strategic partnership with Germany – a country with a key role in the European Union, and thanked the German Government and people for providing over 10 million vaccine doses against COVID-19 and important medical equipment, contributing to the success of Việt Nam in pandemic prevention and control.

Michaelis spoke highly of Việt Nam’s development achievements over the past years, stressing that it was his country’s important partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

In order to strengthen and deepen the bilateral strategic partnership in the coming time, the two sides agreed to increase the exchange of delegations, especially at the high level; maintain regular bilateral cooperation mechanisms; and promote collaboration in areas where the two countries have strengths and demand.

Highlighting positive results in economic cooperation, with Germany remaining Việt Nam’s biggest trading partner in the EU for years, the two sides agreed to coordinate closely to bring into full play advantages of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to facilitate the access of the two countries’ goods to each other’s market.

Hằng took the occasion to propose Germany back the European Commission’s consideration of removing its ‘yellow card’ warning against Vietnamese seafood, given her country’s efforts to strictly and fully implement the EC’s recommendations on fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

To increase the efficiency of bilateral investment cooperation, the Vietnamese official suggested the Federal Foreign Office encourage German firms invest and expand production in Việt Nam, and push for the German Bundestag’s ratification of the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

She also proposed the German Government continue to support Việt Nam in cooperation areas such as environmental protection, energy and vocational training in line with Việt Nam’s sustainable development goals.

For his part, Michaelis affirmed that in the complicated context of the world and regional situation and strong investment shift, the German Government would support and encourage businesses to diversify markets and partners, in which Việt Nam is a country with many advantages in terms of market, labour and investment environment.

Germany would be willing to support Việt Nam in accessing capital, technology and human resources training within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to implement the nation's commitments announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) on reducing emissions to zero by 2050.

The two sides affirmed to maintain close coordination and mutual support at such cooperation frameworks as the EU, the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), and international organisations, especially now that both are members of the UN Human Rights Council in the 2023-2025 term.

Regarding regional and international issues of mutual concern, they stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security, particularly maritime security, and supporting the settlement of disputes by peaceful means and abiding by international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

At the dialogue, the two sides approved the Việt Nam-Germany strategic action plan for the 2023-2025 period with orientations and cooperation activities in all fields including politics-security, economics, climate, energy, science and technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

Within the framework of her working visit to Germany, Hằng had a meeting with Wolfgang Silbermann, Head Speechwriter for the German President. — VNS