Vietnam - Germany agree to promote dialogue and cooperation

Photo caption — *Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan holds talks with Vice President of the German Federal Parliament Bodo Ramelow. Photo: Phuong Hoa/VNA*

During the talks, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan said that Vietnam highly values Germany's leading role and position in Europe and the world. In 2025, the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 14th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership, which is an opportunity for both sides to review and assess the positive development of bilateral relations in all areas, creating a premise to move to a new, closer phase of cooperation.

The VicePresident suggested that the two sides continue to promote delegation exchanges at all levels, through all channels of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly, effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms and enhance coordination at international forums, such as the United Nations and the ASEAN - European Union (EU) framework. The Vice President suggested that the German Parliament continue to support the promotion of Vietnam - EU relations; consider and soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create new momentum for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries; and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU "yellow card" for Vietnam's seafood exports. Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan also hopes that Germany will continue to provide official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, especially in areas such as infrastructure, energy transition, climate change response, etc.

Agreeing with the proposals of Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Vice President of the German Parliament Ramelow said that a group of parliamentarians from different parties is forming in the German Federal Parliament, wishing to develop relations with Vietnam. He highly appreciated the positive contributions of the Vietnamese community in Germany to the local socio-economic life; suggested that the two countries increase people-to-people exchanges, thereby promoting connections between businesses, localities, cooperation in education, culture, tourism, etc. He also said that many German universities are ready to welcome Vietnamese students to study in the form of joint ventures and joint training with Vietnamese universities.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of defense and security and at multilateral forums, aiming to maintain peace, stability and sustainable development in the world.

* On the same day, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan met with Ms. Ines Schwerdtner, Co-Chair of the German Left Party (Die Linke).

At the meeting, the Vice President shared with Ms. Ines Schwerdtner about the achievements Vietnam has made in recent times and the new policies of the Party and State of Vietnam. The Vice President suggested that the two sides increase the sharing of theoretical and practical experiences, making positive contributions to peace, cooperation, stability and sustainable development in the region and the world.

Chairwoman of the Left Party Schwerdtner affirmed that the Communist Party of Vietnam and the German Left Party have a long-standing good traditional relationship and wish to further promote this relationship; at the same time, she hopes to receive the experience sharing of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the work of building and developing the Party, improving the capacity to mobilize the masses and combating the extremist trend that is increasingly popular in European politics. Ms. Schwerdtner also affirmed her support for facilitating the successful integration of the Vietnamese community in Germany into the host country, contributing to the development of the relationship between the two countries.

The two sides highly appreciated the current Policy Dialogue mechanism between the two Parties and believed that it is necessary to further strengthen exchanges between the two Parties, establish new exchange channels, in addition to organizing the 6th Policy Dialogue session well in the fourth quarter of 2025.

* Next, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan met with the Presidium of the Rosa-Luxemburg Foundation (RLS), headed by Professor, Dr. Heinz Bierbaum.

The Vice President highly appreciated the role and prestige of RLS (a research foundation close to the German Left Party) in German and international political and social life, especially in promoting progressive policies, social justice, protecting the rights of women, workers, vulnerable groups and enhancing mutual understanding among people of countries around the world.

The Vice President affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening the Strategic Partnership with Germany, including relations with progressive socio-political organizations such as RLS. The Vice President said that this year of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Germany diplomatic relations is an opportunity for the two sides to promote cooperation in many fields, including people-to-people exchange, cultural exchange, theoretical exchange and cooperation.

RLS Chairman Heinz Bierbaum said that in the context of the complicated world situation, with geopolitical tensions and local conflicts taking place in many places around the world, and at the same time the world is entering a period of polarization, the Vietnam-Germany relationship of trust is even more important. Mr. Bierbaum expressed his impression of Vietnam's brilliant development achievements in recent decades and of Vietnam's methodology and socialist-oriented market economy model. He said that this is always a topic included in the annual political dialogues between the Left Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam and is a content that the German side can learn from and exchange experiences.

Source: https://vpctn.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/hoat-dong-cua-pho-chu-tich-nuoc/viet-nam-duc-nhat-tri-thuc-day-doi-thoai-va-hop-tac.html