Ambassador Nguyen Dac Thanh: Taking Vietnam-Germany relations to 'take off' in a new phase

Looking back over the past half-century, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Dac Thanh said that the Vietnam-Germany relationship has many advantages and potential to "take off" in the new period, meeting the expectations of businesses and people of the two countries.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Dac Thanh. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Germany)

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Germany diplomatic relations (September 23, 1975 - September 23, 2025), Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Dac Thanh shared with The Gioi va Viet Nam Newspaper the outstanding achievements of bilateral relations over the past half century, and pointed out the advantages and vision for the two countries to bring the relationship to new heights in the coming period.

This September is a meaningful month for Vietnam and Germany as Vietnam celebrates its 80th National Day and the two countries mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. What are the outstanding achievements in the half-century of cooperation between the two countries, Ambassador?

Over the past half century, the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Germany has developed extensively, effectively and substantially in all fields. Vietnam and Germany officially established diplomatic relations in 1975, but the good foundation of the bilateral relationship was laid by the unique people-to-people exchange that existed for many decades before that.

Since the early years of the 20th century, President Ho Chi Minh lived in Berlin and his first impression was: “The German people are diligent, friendly and work according to a plan”. Since the middle of the last century, tens of thousands of Vietnamese cadres, experts, engineers, international students and workers have studied, worked and lived in Germany, becoming a cultural bridge, contributing to strengthening the understanding and connection between the two peoples.

In 2011, the two countries signed the Hanoi Declaration on establishing a Strategic Partnership for the Future. Exchanges of high-level delegations and ministries, branches and localities have been taking place actively. In recent years, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (November 2022) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (January 2024) have paid official visits to Vietnam. Party and people-to-people diplomacy have been constantly expanded. The Communist Party of Vietnam has a high-level theoretical dialogue mechanism with both the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Left Party.

Defense and security cooperation has made remarkable progress, becoming an important pillar in the Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the context of increasing global geopolitical challenges. In November 2022, the two countries' Defense Ministries signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement, establishing a comprehensive cooperation framework on delegation exchanges, strategy sharing, training, military medicine and peacekeeping.

Economic, trade, investment and business relations, and development cooperation are important pillars of the Strategic Partnership. Germany is currently Vietnam's leading trade partner in the European Union (EU) and the 12th largest in the world; and is also our fourth largest EU investment partner.

Nearly 15 years since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership, trade turnover between the two countries has increased from 4.57 billion USD in 2011 to 11.7 billion USD, an increase of more than 2.5 times. Many German enterprises are very interested in the investment and business environment in Vietnam in their strategy of diversifying and adjusting the supply chain.

Cooperation in justice - law, science - technology, education - training, health, socio-culture, tourism... has a long tradition and continues to achieve practical results. For example, Germany is among the top 10 tourist markets with the highest spending in Vietnam. From 2023, German tourists will continue to be unilaterally exempted from visas to Vietnam for 45 days.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ambassador Nguyen Dac Thanh at the Credentials Presentation Ceremony, August 27.

What activities and events has the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany been implementing in this special year?

Since the beginning of 2025, the two sides have coordinated to organize many practical activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in the capitals of both countries.

Recently, the Embassy successfully organized the 80th Anniversary of Vietnam's National Day and the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in Berlin with the participation of Vice President of the German Parliament Bodo Ramelow and hundreds of guests from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministries, sectors and localities of Germany. In October 2025, the German Festival is expected to be held right at Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi.

Vietnam welcomes visits by leaders of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and localities of Germany to Vietnam. The Vietnamese Embassy in Berlin is also looking forward to welcoming the delegation of senior leaders of the Vietnamese Government to officially visit Germany according to the 2025 delegation exchange plan, to affirm the political commitment of the two Governments to promote the Strategic Partnership to new heights and meet the expectations of the German business community investing and doing business in Vietnam.

At the Commemoration Ceremony in Berlin that the Ambassador just mentioned, Vice President of the German Parliament Bodo Ramelow said that although Germany and Vietnam are geographically distant and have different institutions, the two countries have similarities in history as well as development vision. How does the Ambassador assess these similarities, advantages as well as the potential for cooperation in the coming time?

The advantages and strengths in the cooperative relationship between the two countries are promoting cooperation in accordance with the foreign policies and guidelines of both sides, serving the common interests of the people, businesses and localities of the two countries.

In terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides share common views and visions on peace, stability, self-reliance and prosperity, promoting respect for international law, strengthening multilateralism, a rules-based international order, and compliance with international law, including the United Nations Charter.

Economically, the two economies are highly open, have great potential and complement each other, as well as the dynamic activities of businesses of the two countries. In particular, it is necessary to promote the fundamental strengths of people-to-people exchanges, including the important role of the Vietnamese community living, working and studying in Germany.

The potential for cooperation between the two countries is still very large, especially in the fields of economics, trade, investment, science, technology and innovation, in the context that Vietnam is preparing the foundation to enter the "take-off" phase of development and the new German coalition government is prioritizing the focus on solving economic issues.

The two sides are pushing for the early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create new momentum for cooperation. Vietnamese enterprises need to take advantage of opportunities to access the German market, especially in the fields of agricultural products, textiles and electronics through the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

German enterprises can expand investment and business in areas with great potential for cooperation such as digital transformation, energy transformation, international financial centers, large infrastructure projects, high-speed railways, airports, etc., in which Vietnam is interested in calling for investment.

Vietnam and Germany pledged to promote cooperation in environmental protection and sustainable development; accelerate projects on renewable energy, water resources management and biodiversity protection. The two sides actively promoted cooperation in labor and vocational training to meet the high demand for skilled labor for German businesses and localities.

Could the Ambassador tell us the focus of cooperation between the two countries in 2025 and the following years?

Firstly , increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, through all channels of the Party, State, National Assembly and people-to-people exchanges; continue to maintain existing cooperation mechanisms. Organize visits and meetings between high-ranking leaders of the two countries to strengthen trust and promote bilateral cooperation, exchange views on international and regional issues of mutual concern at multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, ASEAN, EU...

Second, promote science, technology and innovation cooperation to become a new pillar of cooperation and important content within the framework of strategic partnership.

Third, promote strengths and exploit favorable points so that the Vietnam-Germany strategic partnership can best serve the interests of the two countries' governments and peoples, contributing to peace, prosperity, sustainable development and innovation of the two countries and peoples.

Ambassador Nguyen Dac Thanh (standing in the middle) takes a souvenir photo with guest ambassadors attending the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day in Berlin on September 9.

What should the two countries do to promote similarities and advantages, bringing the Vietnam-Germany relationship to new heights in the next five decades, Ambassador?

First of all, the two countries need to continue to maintain and establish regular dialogue mechanisms and periodic dialogue forums at all levels to help review and evaluate the progress of implementing agreements. In the coming time, it is possible to consider establishing new dialogue mechanisms to adapt to the rapid changes in the world situation.

Second , strengthen cooperation at multilateral forums. As active members of many international and regional organizations, the two countries continue to coordinate closely at multilateral forums to cooperate in addressing global challenges, as well as maintaining peace, security and sustainable development.

Third , promote cooperation in areas with strong development potential such as information technology, artificial intelligence, digital economy, green economy, circular economy, etc.

Fourth , promote business connections between the two countries through business forums, trade fairs, and bilateral investment promotion events to better exploit opportunities, cooperation potential, and strengths of each economy. Businesses play a key role in realizing agreements and cooperation goals between Vietnam and Germany.

Fifth , promote the signing and utilization of trade and investment agreements and cooperation agreements in many other fields. The EVFTA has created an important foundation for trade cooperation, so the German Government's approval of submitting the EVIPA Agreement to the German Parliament for ratification will open up more opportunities for Vietnam-Germany investment cooperation.

Sixth , promote cultural and people-to-people exchange activities through organizing cultural events, festivals, exhibitions and art exchange programs to introduce the cultural identity of each country such as the Vietnam Day Program in Germany.

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-nguyen-dac-thanh-dua-quan-he-viet-nam-duc-cat-canh-trong-giai-doan-moi-328196.html