Sang’s visit, the first by a Vietnamese President to Germany since the country’s reunification, is concurrent with the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Vietnam and Germany established a Strategic Partnership in 2011 when Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Vietnam. The two sides often exchange high-level visits which promote the bilateral co-operation as well as multilateral relations in international dialogue including at United NationS and in ASEAN-EU ties.
Over the past five years, Germany has been one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners in the European Union, accounting for 20 percent of Vietnamese exports to the market. Investment flows from the country to Vietnam has also increased 70 percent to 1.38 billion USD in 2015 from 824 million USD in 2010. Among the prominent ongoing joint projects are the German House, Metro line 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, and the Vietnam-Germany University. More than 300 German businesses are operating in Vietnam.
