On October 5, an economic cooperation conference and a business matching programme were held in Berlin by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), the German Embassy and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce Vietnam (AHK Vietnam).

Addressing over 50 delegates from associations, trade and investment promotion organisations, and enterprises of both countries, Volker Treier, Chief Executive of Foreign Trade at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), said economic and trade partnerships between the two countries have obtained numerous positive results over the past years, especially since the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into force.

German businesses have created about 50,000 jobs in Vietnam, and counting, showing the huge potential of the Vietnamese market for German firms which are working to expand and diversify their markets and supply chains.

Potential cooperation areas include renewable energy and vocational training, he said, noting that vocational training helps attract workers from Vietnam to solve the shortage of skilled manpower in the European country.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh said the countries’ strategic partnership has been flourishing in all fields and at all levels for the last 12 years, helping raise bilateral trade by over two-fold and turn Germany into a highly important investor in Vietnam.

The two economies are complementary to each other and boast substantial cooperation potential. German businesses working in Vietnam also have opportunities to access other markets thanks to many regional cooperation frameworks Vietnam has signed, he continued.

Minh called on enterprises of both countries to capitalise on opportunities to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. He also expressed his hope that Germany and Vietnam can sign a framework agreement on labour cooperation soon to strengthen ties in this field.

Vietrade Director Vu Ba Phu said trade and investment activities have become bright spots of bilateral relations in recent years. The two sides have also inked many deals to provide a legal basis for economic cooperation.

Germany is the largest trading partner of Vietnam in Europe as it accounts for nearly 20% of Vietnam’s exports to the EU. It also serves as an important gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter other European markets, he noted.

Phu affirmed Vietrade’s readiness to coordinate with German authorities to assist the countries’ businesses to seek partners and boost cooperation. He also suggested some measures for improving trade and investment promotion activities of both sides.

Later on October 5, the visiting delegation attended a business matching programme at the Vietnamese community’s Dong Xuan trade centre in Berlin.

Chu Tuan Duc, Minister Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany, highlighted the countries’ enormous cooperation potential and called on Vietnamese firms to tap into current advantages to enter the German market.

He considered the about 200,000 Vietnamese people with many successful companies in Germany an important bridge for enterprises from the Southeast Asian nation to access this market./.
 
Source: en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnamese-firms-explore-chances-for-economic-partnerships-with-germany/269196.vnp