Vietnam economy resilient against pandemic: German chancellor

Vietnam is an important market for many German and European companies as it is part of Asia's abundant trade and material supply network, with impressive resistance against the pandemic, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday.

Scholz made the point at a Germany-Vietnam business roundtable in Hanoi co-chaired by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during the former's visit to the country on November 13-14.

The German chancellor said that the global economy was successful only when countries managed to optimize all of their capabilities and potential, which was true for Vietnam, a country with abundant material sources and a skilled workforce.

The chancellor voiced his delight at the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which he viewed as a foundation for the two economies to recover and develop, and build up mutual trust in economic cooperation.

Scholz also gave some cooperation suggestions to the two countries’ businesses, adding that the German delegation also includes many enterprises wishing to seek partners in economy, infrastructure, and energy cooperation.

German news agency DW says that a 12-member business delegation is with him, and that Vietnam is Germany's most important trading partner in Southeast Asia. Over 350 German companies have invested in Vietnam’s fast-growing economy with a population of nearly 100 million, DW adds.

The chancellor told the business roundtable he hoped businesses in Germany and Vietnam would join in economic partnerships so the two countries could further develop together.

For his part, PM Chinh said as the two countries’ diplomatic ties were set up in September 1975, nearly 50 years ago, Vietnam and Germany have developed a strategic partnership with outstanding milestones recorded in multiple areas.

Germany is currently Vietnam's biggest European trading partner. It ranks 18th among the 141 countries and territories and fourth among EU members investing in the Southeast Asian nation with 437 valid projects worth $2.34 billion at present, rising 2.87-fold from 2010. Its projects concentrate on processing and manufacturing (52.1%) and energy (27.8%), according to official Vietnamese data.

The Vietnamese PM called on the German government and enterprises to continue assisting Vietnam with technology transfer, research and development, building of cooperation agreements on human resource training, and digital transformation among Vietnamese firms.

He stressed the Vietnamese government pledged to create the best possible conditions for German enterprises to operate fruitfully and sustainably in the country.

Prior to the business roundtable, the two leaders held talks in Hanoi and agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in vocational training and exchanging professional human resources, Vietnam News Agency said. The two sides also agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level, and promote people-to-people exchanges and enhance the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms.