SZ newspaper runs a story about Minister-President of the Lower Saxony state Stephan Weil's visit to Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), thesecond biggest state of Germany, is keen on promoting cooperation with Vietnam,especially in economy, and wants to receive more Vietnamese workers, Minister-Presidentof the state Stephan Weil has been quoted by SZ, Germany's largest broadsheetnewspaper, as saying.
Weil described Vietnam as an important partner of theEuropean Union (EU) in Southeast Asia, and Lower Saxony is interested infurther beef up economic collaboration with Vietnamese partners.
He said that he will lead a 50-member delegation, includingrepresentatives from 30 businesses, to visit Vietnam in six days in earlyOctober to explore bilateral cooperation opportunities. The delegation haschosen Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as their main destinations, he said.
Vietnam is an important destination for German firms who want todiversify their market, he held, highly valuing the role of Vietnam in thecontext that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has took effect inseveral years.
Highlighting labour shortage in Germany, Weil said thatduring his visit, he wants to introduce Lower Saxony as an attractivedestination for Vietnamese youngsters who are interested in studying or workingin Germany.
Lower Saxony and Vietnam can also partner in energytransition, he underlined, explaining that with a 3,000km coastline, Vietnam isan ideal place for wind and solar power development.
The state’s press office underscored that economiccooperation promotion is the major driving force of the visit, noting thatVietnam has shown an outstanding performance in economic development over thepast 30 years and one of the production hubs of electronics, garments, footwearand furniture. German firms are interested in the Vietnamese workforce, especiallyin health care, catering services, industry and handicraft. Therefore, Vietnamis an attractive destination for the state amid the current labour shortagesituation, according to the office.
German data shows that among EU member countries, Germany iscurrently Vietnam's largest trading partner with two-way trade reaching about18 billion EUR (more than 19 billion USD) in 2022. There are currently about500 German companies running their representative offices in Vietnam. In aneffort to diversify markets and production locations, many German companies areconsidering investing in Vietnam. Over 100,000 Vietnamese people have studiedand worked in Germany./.
