Vietnam - Germany agree on cooperation focuses on energy, industry and trade

(Chinhphu.vn) - On the afternoon of November 17, in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan and State Secretary of the German Parliament, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Stefan Rouenhoff co-chaired the 3rd meeting of the Vietnam-Germany Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation to review cooperation progress, remove obstacles and identify priority areas in the coming period.

The 3rd meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation between Vietnam and Germany

Attending the meeting were representatives of units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the German Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWE), relevant ministries, branches and business communities of the two countries.

Regarding specific cooperation contents, the two sides continued to affirm that energy cooperation is an important pillar. The two co-chairs welcomed the upgrade to the Vietnam-Germany Energy Partnership, considering this an overarching cooperation framework to promote energy transition, reduce emissions towards carbon neutrality, enhance energy security and expand business cooperation.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan co-chaired the meeting.

The two sides agreed to implement the 2025-2026 Action Plan, maintain the annual High-Level Steering Committee, establish a technical working group, and promote training - research - business connection. Vietnam highly appreciates Germany's role in implementing specific projects in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and hopes that the two countries will continue to cooperate more closely, thereby contributing to strengthening the Vietnam-Germany energy cooperation relationship and contributing to the goal of sustainable development.

In the field of industry and digitalization, Vietnam and Germany agreed to further cooperate in the field of automobile manufacturing; promote investment attraction in supporting industries (textiles, footwear, electronics, high-tech supporting products, etc.). The Vietnamese side proposed that German chemical industry investors pay attention to the preferential sub-sectors under the Chemical Law 2025, and cooperate in applying green chemistry towards the goal of sustainable development. The two sides agreed to increase technology transfer, innovation and digital transformation in the industrial sector. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in training and developing human resources, especially in green skills, digital skills, and industrial management skills 4.0.

State Secretary of the German Federal Parliament, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Stefan Rouenhoff co-chaired the session.

In the field of trade, the two countries agreed to increase information sharing, maintain stable trade, ensure smooth supply chains, effectively utilize multilateral cooperation mechanisms and increase incentives from the Vietnam - European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Vietnam asked Germany to support businesses to meet market regulations; encourage German businesses to invest in deep processing of agricultural and aquatic products, develop logistics, cold storage, and transit centers to serve exports to Europe.

The two co-chairs agreed to maintain the regular meeting mechanism, creating conditions for ministries, branches and the business community to effectively implement the achieved results. At the end of the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan and Parliamentary Secretary of State Stefan Rouenhoff signed the Minutes of the 3rd Meeting of the Joint Committee.

Germany is Vietnam's second largest trading partner in Europe, accounting for more than 17% of our country's exports to the EU (according to 2024 data from Vietnam Customs) and is also an important transit gateway for Vietnamese goods to other markets in Europe.

According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, by the end of October 2025, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Germany reached more than 11.1 billion USD, an increase of 15.1% compared to the first 10 months of 2024. Of which, Vietnam's exports to Germany reached nearly 7.8 billion USD and imports reached nearly 3.2 billion USD, up 19% and 7.2% respectively over the same period in 2024.

In the industrial sector, there are currently about 300 German enterprises operating in Vietnam, especially leading German corporations in the processing and manufacturing industry such as Siemens, B.Braun, Bayer, Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, ZF... have invested and operated in Vietnam.

In the energy sector, the two countries have just signed a Joint Statement on establishing an energy partnership between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action on July 3, 2025, thereby creating new momentum for energy cooperation.

Regarding investment, according to data from the Ministry of Finance , accumulated up to October 31, 2025, Germany has 509 valid investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of 3.009 billion USD, ranking 17th out of 153 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Anh Tho

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/viet-nam-duc-thong-nhat-cac-trong-tam-hop-tac-ve-nang-luong-cong-nghiep-va-thuong-mai-102251118061645361.htm