Vietnam urges Germany to ratify Europe-Vietnam investment protection pact soon

Germany should soon ratify the Europe-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), three top leaders of Vietnam said to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during the latter’s two-day Vietnam visit.

Meeting with his German counterpart Tuesday, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong urged early ratification of the pact as part of economic cooperation between the two countries.

He said the two countries should continue the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and called on Germany to provide more official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam for projects in energy, environmental protection and vocational training.

Steinmeier said Germany was willing to help Vietnam with technology, expertise, and finance for the latter’s efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, a commitment made at COP26 and under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in which Germany is a participant.

The two presidents attended the signing ceremony for an agreement between the two countries’ labor ministries that is focused on employing Vietnamese citizens in Germany, partly meeting the latter’s estimated demand for seven million overseas workers by 2035.

On the same day, Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue urged President Steinmeier to push German authorities and other EU member states to sign the EVIPA in a move to facilitate German businesses’ activities in Vietnam.

He also suggested that the President encourages German firms to invest more in Vietnam, especially in heavy industries, energy, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and traffic infrastructure.

Steinmeier affirmed that Germany was planning to simplify administrative procedures to welcome more Vietnamese workers and was also willing to help Vietnam with green energy development.

Meeting with the German President Wednesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also proposed that Germany ratified the EVIPA soon and continued to collaborate with Vietnam in JETP implementation.

The two leaders agreed to encourage more German investment in Vietnam, in line with Germany’s strengths in energy, railway, medical items, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure.

They also agreed to improve cooperation in workforce training, with Steinmeier saying Germany sought to receive more Vietnamese workers to meet an upcoming labor shortage.

Vietnam-Germany trade turnover reached $11.09 billion in 2023, down 11.9% year-on-year, according to Vietnam Customs. Germany is the 17th-biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with 463 projects having a total registered capital of $2.68 billion, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment.