On September 27, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received German Ambassador Helga Margarete on the occasion of the beginning of her term, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Ambassador Helga Margarete on her new assignment in Vietnam, believing that with her experience, the Ambassador will make positive contributions to the relationship between the two countries.
The Prime Minister was pleased to see that after nearly five decades, the Vietnam-Germany relationship continues to develop well, especially after the visits of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November 2022 and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in January 2024, creating new momentum for the relationship between the two countries.
Germany is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner in the European Union (EU), with trade turnover reaching over 11 billion USD in 2023 and over 8 billion USD in the first 8 months of 2024. Educational relations between the two countries are developing positively with more than 7,500 students studying in Germany and the Vietnam-Germany University project operating effectively.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the German government's creation of favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live and work stably in Germany.
Towards the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2025, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides coordinate to organize meaningful activities such as exchanging high-level delegations, organizing German Days in Vietnam, Vietnamese Days in Germany... to further deepen the cooperative relationship.
The Prime Minister hopes that both sides will take advantage of the opportunities of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement, propose that the German Parliament soon approve the investment protection agreement (EVIPA), urge the European Committee to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood, and strengthen cooperation and support each other at international and regional forums.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked the German Government for supporting Vietnam with a large number of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as Germany's visits and support through multilateral mechanisms for overcoming the consequences of Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam.
German Ambassador Helga Margarete expressed her honor to take up the assignment in Vietnam, affirmed that Vietnam is Germany's key partner in the region and pledged to make every effort to promote relations between the two countries.
On this occasion, the Ambassador shared the human and property losses of the Vietnamese people after Typhoon Yagi and said he would continue to support Vietnam through multilateral mechanisms.
Ambassador Helga Margarete highly appreciated the positive developments in the bilateral relationship, agreed to coordinate with Vietnamese agencies to carry out activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations; highly appreciated Vietnam's role at international and regional forums, and said that in the coming time, she wished to further promote bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially education, training, skilled labor, and climate change adaptation.
Regarding international and regional issues, including the East Sea issue, the two sides promoted the basic principles of international law and agreed to resolve disputes by peaceful means, ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
