Vietnamese, German Foreign Ministers hold phone talks

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held phone talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on September 25 to discuss bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues of mutual concern on the occasion of the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh

Minh affirmed that Vietnam treasures its strategic partnership with Germany which plays an important role in Europe and the world.

He expressed his delight at the strong and effective development of bilateral ties over the past 45 years, especially since the establishment of the strategic partnership.

Minh thanked Germany for actively supporting Vietnam-EU cooperative ties, especially its pushing forward the signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

He welcomed Germany’s active and constructive role in the region and expected that Germany, with its key role in the EU, would continue promoting collaboration between the two regions via its policy orientations towards the Indo-Pacific on economy, trade-investment expansion, human resources development, and supporting ASEAN’s central role in the region.

Maas, for his part, spoke highly of the achievements of the bilateral relationship and agreed to increase visits at all levels and work closely together to carry out the strategic action plan for the 2019-2021 period, thus further deepening bilateral cooperation in promising fields such as manufacturing and supporting industries, smart infrastructure, renewable energy and vocational training.

As Vietnam is assuming the role of ASEAN Chair 2020 and Germany is holding the rotating Presidency of the EU in the second half of this year, both sides promised to foster connectivity between the two regions and work together towards the establishment of the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership.

On regional and global issues of mutual concern, the two officials affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and settlement of disputes via peaceful measures in the East Sea based on international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.

VNA