Cultural exchanges contribute to Vietnam - Germany mutual understanding: opinion

Nguyen Duc Thang, head of the Thang Muoi (October) arts club – a member of the Germany - Vietnam Association, has highlighted the role of cultural exchanges in promoting mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Nguyen Duc Thang, head of the Thang Muoi (October) arts club – a member of the Germany - Vietnam Association

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s state visit to Vietnam on January 23 - 24, Thang said that the coming visit will be the third to Vietnam by Steinmeier, who previously visited the Southeast Asian nation as Federal Foreign Minister of Germany in February 2008 and as Vice Chancellor in November 2016, showing his strong bonds with Vietnam.

Through this trip, the German President wants to emphasise his country’s wish to expand and diversify political and economic relations with Vietnam, and continue to make important steps to enhance the countries’ strategic relations and elevate their ties to a new height.

The delegation will include many leading enterprises of Germany, so the visit will be a chance for them and Vietnamese firms to discuss the reinforcement of partnerships in such fields as economy, investment, trade, vocational training, scientific research, and especially labour – an issue matching the German Government’s concern and Vietnam’s strength, Thang noted.

In addition, he wen on, bilateral connections in culture, education, and health care have also been growing strongly, which is partly attributed to the Vietnamese community and Vietnamese associations in Germany.

Aside from the State’s diplomacy, people-to-people diplomacy and such activities of Vietnamese people as presenting 100,000 face masks to 16 states of Germany or making donations to residents in two flood-hit southwestern states have also helped strengthen ties between the Vietnamese community in Germany and local people, thus contributing to the two countries’ mutual understanding and Vietnamese people’s standing there.

Thanks to regular high-ranking mutual visits, cooperation in economy, trade, investment, culture, and education - training, along with contributions by Vietnamese people in Germany, relations between the two countries will continue developing vigorously and mutual trust be strengthened, thus optimising the strengths of each side, Thang said.

The head of the Thang Muoi arts club also considered cultural activities of his club as a contribution to bilateral cultural exchanges.

Founded in 2011, the club is among the few working in the field of culture for external affairs, he said, noting that together with helping maintain Vietnam’s traditional culture and arts, it has also worked to introduce the homeland’s culture to German and international friends, while frequently taking part in charitable activities in both countries.

With those activities, the club has helped promote cultural links between the two countries, enhance mutual understanding, and raise the standing of the Vietnamese community in Germany, Thang added./.

VNA