Vietnamese Vice State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân and Vice President of the German Bundestag Bodo Ramelow on July 2 in Berlin. VNA/VNS Photo

BERLIN – Vietnamese Vice State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân held talks with Vice President of the German Bundestag Bodo Ramelow on July 2 (local time) during her working trip for the Global Women Leaders’ Summit in Berlin.

The discussions underscored the deepening partnership between the two nations as they approach the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2025 and 14 years of bilateral strategic partnership, a milestone to review achievements and chart a path for a more robust phase of cooperation.

Xuân stressed Việt Nam’s appreciation of Germany’s leading role in Europe and globally. She proposed that both sides increase the exchanges of all-level delegations via the Party, State, Government and parliamentary channels, effectively leverage existing cooperation mechanisms and work closely together at multilateral forums like the United Nations and the ASEAN-EU framework.

She called on the German Bundestag to continue supporting the Việt Nam–EU relationship, quickly ratify the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to help boost trade and investment ties, and advocate for the European Commission to lift the 'yellow card' warning on Vietnamese seafood exports. She also welcomed Germany’s continued provision of official development assistance (ODA) to Việt Nam, especially in infrastructure, energy transition and climate change adaptation.

Vice President Ramelow welcomed Xuân’s proposals, noting a growing interest within the Bundestag in enhancing relations with Việt Nam. He praised the contributions of the Vietnamese community in Germany and advocated for stronger people-to-people exchanges in trade, education, culture and tourism. He even floated the idea of German and Vietnamese universities teaming up for joint degrees and partnerships.

Both sides promised to beef up cooperation in national defence-security and at multilateral platforms, with a shared commitment to global peace, stability and sustainable development.

On the same day, Xuân met with Ines Schwerdtner, Co-Chair of Germany’s Left Party (Die Linke), suggesting greater exchange of theoretical and practical experience between the two parties to advance global and regional peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

In response, Schwerdtner expressed her interest in learning from Việt Nam’s experience in Party building, mass mobilisation and countering political extremism in Europe. She also backed helping the Vietnamese community integrate into German life to boost ties.

Both sides praised the existing Party-to-Party policy dialogue mechanism and planned the sixth dialogue in the fourth quarter while eyeing new ways to team up.

In a separate meeting with Chair of the Executive Board of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (RLS) Professor Heinz Bierbaum, Xuân acknowledged RLS’s prominent role in German and international socio-political lives, especially in promoting progressive policies, social justice, women’s and labour rights, support for vulnerable groups and mutual understanding among nations.

She reaffirmed Việt Nam’s commitment to its strategic partnership with Germany, including progressive socio-political organisations like RLS. She eyed the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as a chance to expand collaboration in people-to-people exchanges, cultural diplomacy and theoretical collaboration.

Bierbaum was impressed, calling Việt Nam’s socialist-market economy a hot topic for the German Left and the Communist Party of Việt Nam, with plenty of invaluable lessons to share. VNA/VNS