German minister supports stronger investment in VN

July 07, 2017 - 10:31

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries, told Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc in Berlin on Thursday that she would encourage German firms to increase investment in Việt Nam. The two discussed measures to increase trade and investment between their countries, especially in the energy field.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (R) meets with Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries in Berlin on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

BERLIN — Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries, told Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc in Berlin on Thursday that she would encourage German firms to increase investment in Việt Nam. The two discussed measures to increase trade and investment between their countries, especially in the energy field.

The minister said both sides should work to increase trade to 15-20 billion euros by 2020, especially given that Việt Nam and the EU are about to sign a free trade agreement.

The two sides should also implement an agreement just signed between Việt Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs to quickly remove bottlenecks for businesses investing and doing business in each other’s country, she said.

Prime Minister Phúc hailed big German companies such as Siemens, Mercedes Benz, Bosch, Braun and Adidas for making effective investments in Việt Nam. However, he noted that German investment has only reached US$1.4 billion, modest compared to the bilateral potential.

The two sides agreed to promote delegation exchanges and business presence at each other’s trade fairs and exhibitions to encourage German small-and medium-sized enterprises to invest in Việt Nam.

Phúc thanked the German Government for providing official development assistance (ODA) for Việt Nam, which made significant contributions to its socio-economic development. He proposed Germany further help Việt Nam in vocational training, climate change adaptation and waste treatment.

Minister Zypries pledged to provide more assistance for Việt Nam to carry out vocational training programmes. — VNS

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