The Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association held a ceremony in Hanoi on September 30 to celebrate Germany’s 24th National Day (October 3, 1990).

Addressing the event, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, who is also Chairman of the association, congratulated the German friends in Vietnam on this occasion.

He said since the Vietnam-Germany strategic partnership was established in 2011, bilateral ties have seen encouraging achievements in politics-diplomacy, economy-trade-investment, education-training, and development cooperation.

Germany is Vietnam’s largest trade partner in the European Union with two-way trade reaching 7.7 billion USD in 2013, he said, adding that the former directly invested over 1.3 billion USD in 136 projects in Vietnam by August this year.

The German Business Association has selected Vietnam as the host of the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK 14). The event, to be held in Ho Chi Minh City from November 21-22, will be a great opportunity for German companies to boost their trade-investment links with regional partners, including those in Vietnam.

The minister added the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association will continue to do its utmost to diversify people-to-people exchange activities in a bid to further develop bilateral ties.

At the ceremony, German Ambassador to Vietnam Jutta Frasch voiced her hope that the association will organise more activities to deepen the flourishing relations between the two countries.-VNA