Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh (fourth from right) at the meeting. (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu QuangMinh held a working session with a delegation of interns from the GermanForeign Ministry to discuss Vietnam's foreign policies on April 11.
It was the first time that interns from various universities in Germany had joined a discussion on Vietnam-Germany relationship, as well as several currentinternational issues related to their fields of study at the VietnameseEmbassy.
They watched a video clip introducing Vietnam's foreign achievementsand several diplomatic milestones in 2022, the Vietnam-Germany relationship,and Vietnam's foreign policies amid more unpredictable and complicateddevelopments in the world than forecasted.
Minh briefedthem on Vietnam's foreign policy, its stance on certain global and regionalissues, and important missions of the diplomatic sector in the national developmentprocess, especially its significant role in promoting post-pandemic economicgrowth.
Reviewingoutstanding achievements of economic diplomacy in 2022, Minh said keeping upwith the world's trend of reopening, Vietnam has actively stepped up direct diplomaticactivities bilaterally and multilaterally and deepened ties with countries andinternational organisations, thus demonstrating the policy of balancing anddiversifying foreign relations.
The sectoralso quickly shifted its focus from "vaccine diplomacy" to"economic diplomacy" in service of national recovery and development.In accordance with a Directive of the Party Central Committee’sSecretariat and directions of the Government, it advised on the timing ofreopening, helping to promptly attract investment flows, revive tourism,restore production, and propel economic growth leading the region, he added.
Answering interns’questions about Vietnam’s socio-economic development last year, Minhhighlighted the country’s efforts tostep up the implementation of free trade agreements, the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and urge the European Union (EU) to remove theyellow card warning and realise the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) andthe EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
He affirmed that thedirection towards new markets, green economy, digital economy and circulareconomy has helped the Vietnamese goods gain a foothold in many places, with a recordexport-import value of over 730 billion USD.
At the working session (Photo: VNA) Germany remains Vietnam's biggest trade partner in the EU while Vietnam has becomeGermany's largest trade partner in Southeast Asia. After more than 10 years ofstrategic partnership, two-way trade doubled. As of November 2022, it topped 10.6billion USD, up 16.7% annually. According to Germany’s statistics, the figurewas even higher, reaching 12.16 billion USD.
On the global arena, Vietnam and Germany also offer mutualsupport at international forums.
As active and responsible members of the internationalcommunity, Vietnam and Germany share many core values, strategic interests andconcerns in the region and the world, for the sake of cooperation, stability,peace and development based on the rule of law, Minh said.
On the occasion, he alsoshared his professional experience in diplomatic sector over the past threedecades./.
