Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held talks following the welcome ceremony as part of the latter’s official visit to Vietnam on Sunday.

PM Chinh said the chancellor's two-day visit to Vietnam is of great importance to bringing their bilateral relations to a new phase of development and intensifying the strategic partnership.

It also helps strengthen cooperation in bilateral and multilateral aspects toward sustainable development and joint settlement of global issues.

The two leaders agreed that the Vietnam-Germany strategic partnership had achieved positive development despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as economic and political challenges in the world.

Vietnam is currently Germany's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

Before and during the visit of Chancellor Scholz, the two countries completed negotiations and signed three cooperation documents on defense, energy and labor transition, and vocational training.

“This shows that the strategic partnership is becoming more and more effective,” PM Chinh told the press after the talks.

In the context that the global situation continues to be complicated and unpredictable, and the world economy is facing many difficulties, the two sides agreed on promoting cooperation, boosting political trust, thereby contributing to recovery and sustainable economic development.

Chancellor Scholz said he had discussed economic issues with PM Chinh during their conversation.

The current situation in Ukraine is one of the manifestations of the difficulties facing the global economy, thus it is necessary to expand the market, diversify the supply chain, and expand the sources of raw material production.

Vietnam is an important partner of Germany and German businesses, he continued, adding that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 2020, is a very important basis for the bilateral relationship.

In order to promote the existing platform, German businesses need safe conditions when investing in Vietnam, and agreements between the two countries need to be effectively implemented.

Cooperation in the field of vocational training and professional capacity improvement needs to be further deepened, according to the German chancellor.

Another focus of the discussions between the two sides was environmental issues and energy transition.

Vietnam is one of the countries heavily affected by climate change, and Germany is making great efforts to support Vietnam in its emission reduction goal.

The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Vietnam Sea, and peacefully resolving disputes in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They affirmed that Vietnam and Germany will continue close coordination and mutual support at international forums and organizations, especially in promoting ASEAN’s relations with Germany and the EU, and strengthening bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the United Nations.

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