The seventh strategic dialogue at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers of Vietnam and Germany

Implementing the cooperation plan between the Vietnamese and German Foreign Ministries, on April 3 in Berlin, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and German Foreign Minister Andreas Michaelis co-chaired the 7th Vietnam-Germany Strategic Dialogue to discuss measures to promote bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Photo caption — *Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry Andreas Michaelis at the dialogue.*

According to the VNA correspondent in Germany, at the meeting, the two sides were pleased to see that after more than 10 years of establishing the Strategic Partnership, the Vietnam-Germany relationship is developing effectively and comprehensively in all areas, in line with the development trend of the world and the interests of the two countries. Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the Strategic Partnership with Germany, a country with a key role in the European Union (EU), and expressed gratitude to the German Government and people for supporting over 10 million doses of vaccines and many important medical equipment, contributing to Vietnam's success in preventing and combating the COVID-19 pandemic. State Secretary Michaelis highly appreciated Vietnam's development achievements in recent times and emphasized that Vietnam is an important partner of Germany in the Indo-Pacific region. In order to consolidate and further deepen the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Germany in the coming time, the two sides agreed to increase the exchange of delegations, especially high-level delegations; regularly maintain bilateral cooperation mechanisms; promote cooperation in areas of both countries' strengths and needs, including trade - investment, development cooperation, climate change response, labor, education - training, people-to-people exchange, etc. Highly appreciating the positive results achieved in economic cooperation, in which Germany has maintained its position as Vietnam's largest trading partner in the EU for many consecutive years with an average trade growth of over 10% per year, reaching over 12 billion USD in 2022, the two sides agreed to closely coordinate to effectively exploit the benefits brought about by the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), creating more favorable conditions for Vietnamese and German goods to access each other's markets. On this occasion, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang asked Germany to support the European Commission (EC) in promptly removing the “yellow card” on Vietnamese seafood, taking into account Vietnam’s recent efforts in seriously and fully implementing the EC’s recommendations on IUU. To improve the effectiveness of bilateral investment cooperation, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang asked the German Foreign Ministry to encourage German enterprises to invest and expand production in Vietnam in areas where Germany has strengths and is in line with Vietnam’s development priorities, while promoting the German Parliament’s ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang asked the German Government to continue supporting Vietnam in priority areas of cooperation such as environmental protection, energy and vocational training, in line with Vietnam’s sustainable development goals.

Sharing the assessments and proposals to strengthen bilateral cooperation of Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, State Secretary Michaelis affirmed that in the context of the complicated developments in the world and the region and the strong trend of investment shifting, the German Government supports and encourages businesses to diversify markets and partners, in which Vietnam is a country with many advantages in terms of market, labor resources, and investment environment. Based on the effective cooperation that the two sides have achieved, State Secretary Michaelis said that Germany is ready to support Vietnam in accessing capital, technology and human resource training within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to implement Vietnam's commitments made at the COP 26 Conference on reducing emissions to zero by 2050. State Secretary Michaelis highly appreciated the potential for cooperation between the two sides in the fields of labor and vocational training. In the context that the German Government is currently implementing many policies to attract highly skilled workers, the two sides can expand cooperation in this field. Welcoming the positive results in Vietnam - Germany cooperation in regional and multilateral forums, the two sides affirmed to continue to closely coordinate and support each other in cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN, EU and international organizations, especially in the context that the two countries are both members of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023 - 2025 term.

In discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two sides emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and security, including maritime security in the region and the world, supporting the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, in compliance with international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982). The two sides also exchanged views on recent developments and situations in regions around the world.

At the Dialogue, the two sides approved the Vietnam - Germany Strategic Action Plan for the period 2023 - 2025 with orientations and cooperation activities between the two countries in the coming time in all fields including politics - security, economy, climate - energy, science - technology, culture and people-to-people exchange... Within the framework of the working trip to Germany, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang had a meeting with German Presidential Advisor Wolfgang Silbermann, worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and agencies next to the Embassy.