The state visit to Vietnam by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to create new momentum for Vietnam-Germany cooperation in key areas, including industry, trade and energy, Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, told Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, in Hanoi on January 23.
At the meeting, Tan and Kellner, who is also head of an economic group comprising representatives from 12 major enterprises accompanying the German President on the Vietnam visit, discussed the implementation of the EU- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and impacts of the agreement on bilateral relations.
Specifically, the agreement has helped promote the export of many key products of Vietnam to the German market and creates favourable conditions for Vietnam to increase the import of machinery, equipment, and modern technology from Germany, thereby
raising Vietnam's ability to join the global value chain as well as Vietnamese products’ competitiveness.
Besides, the EVFTA has promoted its role in speeding up Vietnam's institutional reform, contributing to creating an increasingly favourable legal framework for multi-sector cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in the coming time.
The two sides also reviewed the two countries’ recent effective cooperation projects.
Tan said the approval of Vietnam’s Power Plan VIII has created new development space for the energy industry, opening up opportunities for international investors, including those from Germany.
So, he said, his ministry wishes to promote cooperation with the German government in the energy sector, such as renewable energy technology, and new energy, equipment serving the energy industry, advanced energy storage technology and high-performance fuel cells.
For his part, Kellner and the German business group evaluated Vietnam as a leading dynamic and potential market in Southeast Asia. In particular, the German businesses expressed their interest in cooperating and investing in companies in Vietnam in such specific fields as renewable energy, equipment, industrial measurement technology, new materials, environmental services, and organisation of trade fairs.
