President Võ Văn Thưởng and his spouse, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his spouse at the banquet. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — President Võ Văn Thưởng and his spouse hosted a banquet in honour of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his spouse at the Hà Nội Opera House on Tuesday evening.

Speaking at the event, President Thưởng said the visit to Việt Nam by the German President in the first month of 2024 and ahead of the traditional Lunar New Year (Tết) celebration fosters a sense of warm friendship and positive expectations for the future of bilateral relations.

The bilateral friendly cooperation, which dated back to the 1950s, has been continuously strengthened, consolidated and developed by many generations of leaders and people from both countries, he said, adding that since the establishment of bilateral strategic partnership in 2011, the two countries have seen steady progress in bilateral ties with significant milestones in various areas.

The President expressed his delight at the presence of outstanding individuals from the Vietnamese community in Germany accompanying the President. He believed that the nearly 200,000-strong Vietnamese community living in Germany, along with tens of thousands who have studied and worked there, many of whom are proficient in the German language, constitute an essential force to further enhance people-to-people exchanges, friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries.

In the upcoming journey, Việt Nam hopes to further strengthen effective cooperation with Germany in traditional areas and expand collaboration in potential sectors such as energy transition, green growth, circular economy, labour cooperation, among others. The goal is to collectively address common challenges in the region and the world, in alignment with the spirit of their strategic partnership, he said.

For his part, the German president said that this is his third visit to Việt Nam, with the previous times in 2008 and 2016, and that compared to eight years ago, Việt Nam is in constant motion with a growing middle class and thriving economy. He said he believes that with the current pace of development, in the next eight years, there will be self-driving electric cars controlled by artificial intelligence in Việt Nam.

The leader held that the thing that connects Vietnamese and German peoples is the shared history of the two countries. It is the foundation that has created diversity and depth in the bilateral friendship. He also mentioned flourishing trade and intensified investment, vibrant cultural, scientific, and social exchanges, and political cooperation between the two states and peoples.

Agreeing with his Vietnamese counterpart, Steinmeier said the close ties between the two peoples, including the 200,000 Vietnamese people living and working in Germany and many who speak German, are an important foundation for the nations’ collaboration in politics, economy and culture.

He believed that the shared history of the two countries provides strength for a common future marked by flourishing trade and investment, skilled labour exchanges, cooperation in such global issues as climate protection, and the respect for international law, multilateralism, and peace.

After the banquet, the President and his delegation were invited to enjoy an art programme presented by the Vietnam National Academy of Music. — VNS