Vietnam appreciates the role and support of the Germany-ASEAN Parliamentary Friendship Group
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc affirmed that the Friendship Parliamentarians Group is an important bridge contributing to strengthening the friendly and cooperative relations between the German Parliament and ASEAN and the parliaments of ASEAN member countries.
On the occasion of attending the Hamburg Conference on Sustainable Development (HSC), on October 10, at the headquarters of the German Federal Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc had a working session with the Chairwoman of the German-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ms. Gabriele Katzmarek and the group of parliamentarians.
According to the VNA correspondent in Berlin, at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc highly appreciated the role and active support of Ms. Gabriele Katzmarek and the Friendship Parliamentarians' Group in promoting Germany-ASEAN relations in general and relations with Vietnam in particular; affirmed that the Friendship Parliamentarians' Group is an important bridge contributing to strengthening the friendly and cooperative relations between the German Parliament and ASEAN and the parliaments of ASEAN member countries, for peace and prosperity of the two regions; asked parliamentarians to urge the German Parliament to support Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive cooperation with the EU; urged the German Parliament to soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create new momentum for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries; at the same time, asked parliamentarians to support the two Governments in strengthening cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths and needs such as trade, investment, education and training, high technology, healthcare, and labor cooperation.
Ms. Gabriele Katzmarek and the parliamentarians expressed positive assessments of Vietnam's achievements in socio-economic development and international integration as well as its increasingly important role and position in the region; said that the German-Vietnamese relationship has a long history; expressed joy at the positive and effective developments in the bilateral relationship; affirmed that Germany attaches great importance to relations with countries in the Indo-Pacific region in general, and with Vietnam in particular, as demonstrated through the visit to Vietnam by the German Chancellor (in 2022) and the German President (in 2024).
The two sides agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade-investment, science-technology, renewable energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, especially vocational training according to German standards and labor cooperation in the context of Vietnam having an abundant source of young labor and Germany having a large labor shortage.
The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation at multilateral forums, contributing to maintaining peace, responding to global challenges, and achieving sustainable development and prosperity in the world.
Regarding the situation in the East Sea, the two sides agreed on the need to resolve disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), contributing to ensuring peace, stability and freedom of navigation in the region./.
