Berlin (VNA) – The administration of Leipzig, the most populous city in the eastern German state of Saxony, hosted the signing ceremony for a letter of intent to establish the German–Vietnam Hub on August 28.
The letter of intent was inked by Leipzig's Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, Labour and Digital Affairs Clemens Schülke, Managing Director of Invest Region Leipzig Michael Körner, and Vice President of the Leipzig Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Leipzig) Angelika Bordt.
Through the German–Vietnam Hub, Leipzig plans to build a concentrated business advisory system to facilitate economic cooperation, investment, and knowledge transfer between the two countries. The city also aims to reinforce its position as a venue for promoting cultural exchange and dialogue with Vietnam.
Leipzig is a major logistics, industrial, and scientific hub, as well as a sister city of Ho Chi Minh City. It boasts immense potential for economic cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in health care, water treatment, environmental technology, energy, the digital economy, higher education, and high-skilled worker recruitment and training. The Leipzig region is also home to a sizeable Vietnamese community in Germany.
The German–Vietnam Hub sets out five strategic goals, including promoting Leipzig and Germany as business destinations and attracting Vietnamese enterprises; supporting German companies in entering the Vietnamese market; and expanding scientific cooperation with Vietnamese institutions. It also looks to attract vocational trainees and skilled workers from Vietnam to Germany, and increase bilateral dialogue between the two countries.
Following the signing ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Dac Thanh held a working session with Leipzig Deputy Mayor Clemens Schülke and Saxony State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Protection Dirk Panter.
Thanh asked for bolstering bilateral economic cooperation and business linkages, encouraging Leipzig enterprises to invest and expand operations in Vietnam, and supporting Vietnamese companies to leverage Leipzig as a gateway to German and European markets.
He also called for enhanced vocational training cooperation, increased recruitment of Vietnamese workers to Leipzig, and greater capitalisation of the local Vietnamese community as a bridge for collaboration.
He affirmed that the Vietnamese Embassy stands ready to serve as a bridge connecting Leipzig's municipal administration, IHK Leipzig, and Invest Region Leipzig—a city-owned agency responsible for business development and investment attraction—with Vietnamese ministries, localities, associations, and businesses. It will also support post-meeting projects to achieve concrete results.
Schülke emphasised that Vietnam–Leipzig relations have been nurtured over the past 75 years, and Leipzig’s sister-city partnership with Ho Chi Minh City provides a special foundation for cooperation between the two cities and their countries.
With the German–Vietnam Hub, Leipzig wants to build a bridge connecting Vietnamese and German enterprises, the Deputy Mayor said, adding that it aims to facilitate bilateral investment and unlock new business opportunities.
Vietnam is an important economic partner for Germany, he remarked.
For his part, Panter praised the effective and practical cooperation between Leipzig and Ho Chi Minh City, stressing Vietnam's political stability is a key factor enabling both sides to realise their collaborative potential.
Also on August 28, the Vietnamese Ambassador and embassy delegation attended an economic dialogue at IHK Leipzig. The event also saw the presence of representatives from the municipal administration, the Vietnamese Association in Leipzig, and roughly 30 major enterprises from the two countries.
Thanh stressed that Vietnam particularly seeks to attract high-quality and high-tech investments, knowledge transfer, along with higher value-added projects, which directly aligns Vietnam's development needs with the strengths of Leipzig and Saxony.
Participating businesses presented their operations and current or upcoming projects in Vietnam. They expressed a keen interest in networking and expanding business and investment partnerships./.
