Vietnam-Germany committee meets on economic cooperation
The first meeting of the Vietnam-Germany Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation was held online on January
At the first meeting of the Vietnam-Germany Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation that was held virtually. Photo: MoIT
Germany will make all-out efforts to push ahead with the implementation of trade and industry cooperation deals with Vietnam, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thus boosting bilateral ties, German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier said on January 12.
During the first meeting of the Vietnam-Germany Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation that was held virtually, the German minister affirmed that Vietnam is a priority of the German government during cooperation.
At the meeting, the two sides looked into cooperation possibilities in industry and trade, manufacturing-processing, energy, and education-training.
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh stressed that Vietnam always treasures its strategic partnership with Germany and hopes to further boost bilateral economic, trade, and industry cooperation.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has worked to facilitate the operation of foreign-invested enterprises, especially those from Germany, as they are an important factor in national economic growth, he said.
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh. MoIT
The minister wished for expanded cooperation in energy with the German side, not only in traditional and renewable energy but also in the reserving and transmission of power, as well as in ensuring power security and distribution in a balanced, suitable, and economic fashion.
Minister Anh suggested Germany continue to provide optimal conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to join more deeply production chains of components and accessories of major German enterprises.
He also called for the German support in establishing a centre for digital transformation in production, in order to optimise opportunities generated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The two ministers shared the view that Vietnam and Germany will continue applying the Fast Track mechanism to deal with obstacles facing businesses of both sides more effectively in the time ahead.
At the end of the meeting, they signed the minutes and consented to hold the second meeting of the committee in 2022.
German projects in Vietnam mostly specialise in manufacturing-processing, technical services, information and communications, and banking and insurance. Photo: Internet
Germany is Vietnam’s largest trade partner in Europe, making up 19 percent of Vietnam’s exports to the EU, and serves as a gateway for Vietnamese goods to penetrate other European markets.
Vietnam ranks 24th out of 144 goods providers of Germany, and 78th among 144 importers of the country.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, as of the end of November, two-way trade reached 9.08 billion USD, with Vietnam’s exports hit 6.05 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 0.5 percent.
Germany had run 378 projects in the Southeast Asian nation, with total registered capital exceeding 2.2 billion USD, ranking it 17th out of 139 countries and territories investing in the country.
The German projects mostly specialised in manufacturing-processing, technical services, information and communications, and banking and insurance./.
The Vietnam-Germany Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation was set up following an agreement reached by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Its objective is to realise the economic partnership between the two countries and elevate the bilateral ties to a higher level while making them more practical, thus supporting businesses of both sides.
Within the framework of the meeting, talks were held to discuss cooperation opportunities, especially in energy, digital transformation, and manufacturing-processing.