Germany will continue providing official development assistance for Vietnam with the focus on the fields of energy, the environment and vocational training in combination with sustainable development.

German State Secretary Markus Ederer made the comments when being received by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi on June 17.

At the meeting, both sides agreed to coordinate with each other in organising activities to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties which will come next year and implementing the two countries’ main projects.

Vietnam welcomes Germany’s plan to organise the 14 th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Ho Chi Minh City in November and pledges to support the German side in this work, Minh said.

Both host and guest agreed to work closely at multilateral forums and international organisations. Germany vows to help Vietnam strengthen its comprehensive ties with the European Union, and support the EU’s recognition of Vietnam’s market economy at the same time with the completion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the bloc.

The German side voiced support to Vietnam’s stance of solving disputes in the East Sea peacefully in respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and objection to unilateral acts that can complicate the East Sea situation.-VNA