Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister (PM) and Foreign Minister (FM) Pham Binh Minh and German Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel reached the consensus at a bilateral meeting in Bonn on February 16. Minh is there for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers on February 16-17

The two sides expressed their pleasure at the growing strategic partnership between Vietnam and Germany. Germany is currently one of the biggest trade partners of Vietnam in the European Union.

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Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh (L) meeting with German Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel 

Deputy PM and FM Minh proposed Germany urge the EU to finalize the legal revision for the early signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in 2017, and recognize Vietnam’s market economy status at the same time.

He hailed Germany for inviting Vietnam - as the host of the APEC Year 2017 - to attend the meeting of G20 foreign ministers, and took this occasion to invite Germany to participate in some APEC events in Vietnam.

Both ministers agreed that the agenda and priorities of G20 and APEC this year share a lot of similarities. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen coordination between the two to maintain peace and stability in the region and around the world as well as promote sustainable development, trade connectivity and liberalization.

They also exchanged regional and international issues of mutual concerns such as enhancing collaboration at global forums, including that of the United Nations.

Minh welcomed Germany to become a development partner of ASEAN from 2016 and hoped the European country will further support ASEAN in such key fields as green technology, agriculture, development, infrastructure, education, environment, climate change adaptation, natural disaster response.

The EU and particularly Germany are expected to strongly advocate the settlement of any disputes via peaceful means and international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to make active contributions to ensuring navigation and overflight safety and security in the region, he added.

Source: VNA