Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son pays visit to Germany
Berlin (VNA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son paid an official visit to Germany from September 26-27 at the invitation of his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
During the visit, Son held talks with Baerbock, paid courtesy calls to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Council Bodo Ramelow, Minister-President of Hessen state Boris Rhein, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Michael Kellner.
During the meetings, Son affirmed that Vietnam always
treasures the strategic partnership with Germany. He suggested both sides expand cooperation
to further deepen contents of the bilateral strategic partnership.
The minister thanked the Government and people of Germany for providing Vietnam with COVID-19 vaccine and medical equipment, thus helping Vietnam early contain the pandemic and resume socio-economic activities.
German
leaders described Vietnam as an important partner of Germany in Southeast Asia
and Asia-Pacific. They once again thanked the Vietnamese Government and people
for offering masks to Germany when the COVID-19 broke out in 2020.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier conveyed his regards to
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vietnamese leaders and expressed wish to visit
Vietnam soon.
About
economic-trade ties, the Vietnamese minister proposed the two sides continue to effectively implement the
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). He hoped that the German Parliament
will soon complete the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection
Agreement and the German Government will support the early removal of the European Commission’s yellow card warning on Vietnam’s aquatic products for export, thus
facilitating bilateral trade and investment activities.
Both
sides agreed to intensify coordination in new fields such as climate change
response and renewable energy, contributing to seriously and fully delivering
on commitments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) as well as dealing with global issues.
President Steinmeier and President of the Federal Council Ramelow
said both sides still hold potential of cooperation in Germany’s strong fields such as sci-tech, environment protection, climate change response, vocational
training, labour and locality-to-locality cooperation. They also vowed to
tackle difficulties in bilateral trade.
On
regional and global issues of shared concern, hosts and guest consented that
the two countries will continue effectively working together and offering
mutual support at multilateral organisations and forums, including cultivating
ASEAN-EU ties.
Regarding
the East Sea issue, they shared a stance on ensuring peace, stability, security,
cooperation and development in the region, settling disputes by peaceful means
in line with international law and the UN Charter, particularly the 1982 UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Son
wished that Germany would create more conditions for the Vietnamese community to
integrate into the host country, thus contributing to German socio-economic development and the Vietnam-Germany ties.
During the visit, the FM had a working session with the Vietnamese embassy and met with representatives from the Vietnamese community in the European country./.