Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received President of the German Parliament Norbert Lammert in Hanoi on March 27 on the occasion of the latter’s attendance at the 132 nd Assembly of the Inter-parliamentary Union.

The Cabinet leader valued positive progress seen in bilateral cooperation since the countries lifted their ties to the strategic partnership.

He said he hopes the German Parliament will support Vietnam and the European Union in their efforts to soon conclude bilateral free trade agreement negotiations.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung also urged Germany to recognize Vietnam ’s market economy so as to facilitate its development.

The German Parliament leader said as the two nations mark the 40 th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year, Germany is committed to promoting cooperation projects with Vietnam , especially in education with the Vietnam-Germany University in Ho Chi Minh City being an outstanding example.

On this occasion, PM Nguyen Tan Dung expressed condolences to German leaders and people over the crash of a Germanwings airplane which killed a number of the country’s citizens.-VNA