Vietnam-Germany promote parliamentary foreign cooperation

During the working visit to Germany by the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation, the two sides agreed that the Vietnam-Germany relationship is developing strongly in many areas, including parliamentary cooperation.

From October 14-18, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly 's Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs (QPAN-DN) Nguyen Manh Tien led a delegation of National Assembly deputies to visit and work in the Federal Republic of Germany.

According to a VNA correspondent in Berlin, during their time in Germany, the delegation of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs had meetings with Vice President of the German Federal Parliament , Mr. Bodo Ramelow; Dr. Malte Kaufmann, Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentary Friendship Group; and Chairman of the German Federal Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Armin Laschet.

At the meetings, Deputy Head Nguyen Manh Tien expressed his pleasure at the fact that the Vietnam-Germany strategic partnership continues to develop strongly on all channels, including parliamentary cooperation. Political relations, economic cooperation, trade, bilateral investment, etc. maintain a good, positive and effective development momentum, especially economic cooperation is an important pillar of the strategic partnership. Deputy Head Nguyen Manh Tien affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to multifaceted cooperation with Germany.

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Tien, investment cooperation between the two sides still has a lot of room for development if the Vietnam-European Union Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) is ratified by the European Union (EU) countries and put into implementation. Deputy Chairman Nguyen Manh Tien said that EVIPA is one of Vietnam's top priorities, demonstrating political determination in promoting a fair, transparent and responsible investment environment, for the common interests of both Vietnam and EU partners.

Vice President of the German Federal Parliament, Bodo Ramelow; Dr. Malte Kaufmann received Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Manh Tien. (Photo: Phuong Hoa/VNA)

The draft of the EVIPA has been approved by the German Government and submitted to the German Parliament for comments and ratification. Vietnam and Germany have had a bilateral investment protection agreement in place since 1993, but as a country shaping the EU's foreign and investment policy, Germany's early ratification of the EVIPA will be of strategic significance, not only demonstrating Germany's commitment to the EU's core values ​​of the rule of law and fair trade, but also in line with the depth of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Germany.

The ratification and implementation of EVIPA will create new momentum for trade and investment between the two countries and complement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which has been in effect since 2020 and is bringing many positive practical results for bilateral trade.

EVIPA will also be a boost for investment growth of German enterprises in Vietnam, especially in the fields of renewable energy, green transformation and sustainable development, manufacturing industry, services, logistics, education, etc., which are cooperation priorities of both sides; in line with the diversification policy and risk reduction when investing of German investors.

For Vietnam, EVIPA helps protect the legal rights of Vietnamese investors in Germany and the entire EU, promoting institutional reform and policy transparency in areas such as intellectual property, market access and dispute resolution.

Deputy Chairman Nguyen Manh Tien proposed that the German side actively support and urge the German Federal Parliament to ratify EVIPA at the earliest possible time, making EVIPA truly a symbolic agreement for the long-term and sustainable connection between the EU and Vietnam.

The delegation of the National Assembly's National Defense and Security Committee took a souvenir photo with President of the German Federal Parliament, Bodo Ramelow; Dr. Malte Kaufmann. (Photo: Phuong Hoa/VNA)

Vice President of the German Parliament Ramelow welcomed and appreciated the Vietnamese National Assembly sending a working delegation to Germany, and affirmed the desire to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam. Regarding the EVIPA agreement, Vice President Ramelow said that according to the process, EVIPA will be discussed by committees of the German Parliament and there will be three hearings before the National Assembly votes at the end of this year.

According to him, although there are many opposition parties and many conflicting opinions in the German Parliament, he believes that the majority in the German Parliament will support this Agreement.

Regarding politics and diplomacy, Deputy Head Nguyen Manh Tien suggested that the two sides promote delegation exchanges at all levels, local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and proposed that Germany soon resume the implementation of the visa exemption agreement for diplomatic passport holders.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, the two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges to share experiences in legislation, supervision and innovation of parliamentary activities; coordinate and support each other in multilateral parliamentary forums. The Vietnamese side proposed that the German Parliament have a voice in proposing that the European Commission (EC) soon remove the IUU “yellow card” on Vietnam’s seafood exports.

Regarding defense and security, the Vietnamese delegation proposed that the two countries' parliaments strengthen relations because there is still much room for cooperation development in the context of complicated developments in the world's geopolitical situation.

During the meetings, in addition to promoting parliamentary cooperation, the two sides also mentioned common concerns, exchanged experiences in economic development, science and technology cooperation, energy cooperation and diversification of raw material cooperation.

The German side highly appreciated Vietnam's support at a time when Germany faced many difficulties in providing equipment to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. Vice President of the National Assembly Ramelow said he planned to visit Vietnam in March 2026 and agreed to promote parliamentary relations between the two sides.

The working delegation of the Committee for National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs also had a meeting with officials of the Vietnamese Embassy in Berlin. Here, the delegation listened to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany, Mr. Nguyen Dac Thanh, report on the local situation and activities of Vietnamese representative agencies in Germany, and discussed ways to promote the German side to pass EVIPA, issues related to policies for representative agency officials and the repair and upgrading of representative agency headquarters, in the spirit of Resolution 59-NQ/TW of the Politburo on "International integration in the new situation"./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/viet-nam-duc-thuc-day-hop-tac-doi-ngoai-nghi-vien-post1071115.vnp