Berlin (VNA) – Vice Chairman ofthe National Assembly (NA) Do Ba Ty led a high-ranking delegation on a workingvisit to Germany from September 24 to 27.

On September 26, the Vice Chairman had talkswith Vice President of the German parliament Thomas Oppermann and receivedChairman of the parliament’s Defence Committee Wolfgang Hellmich.

At the talks with the German parliament’s VicePresident, Ty affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to reinforcingrelations with Germany in all aspects and considers the country a trustworthyand leading partner in Europe.

He thanked the parliament for supporting theGerman Government’s continuation of official development assistance for Vietnam,affirming that the projects funded through that assistance have been greatlyhelping with Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

The Vice Chairman also asked Germany to furtherassist Vietnam in the fields matching the former’s strength and the latter’sdemand like vocational training, climate change response, waste treatment,environmental protection and high technology.

Both sides shared the view that the strategicpartnership between the two countries is growing strongly, noting that asidefrom connections in politics, economy, trade and investment, parliamentarycooperation is one of the important pillars that are being promoted strongly.

Oppermann affirmed his country’s support for theearly ratification of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) andInvestment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). It also wishes to step up culturalexchanges through activities of the Goethe Institute in Vietnam.

The two sides also agreed to bolsterpartnerships in other areas like defence, science – technique and industry.

Vice Chairman Ty appreciated Germany’s advocacyof the EVFTA and EVIPA signing, calling on the country to continue promotingthe European Parliament and the EU member parliaments’ early ratification ofthe two deals so that they will become effective soon and generate practicalbenefits for businesses and people of both sides.

On this occasion, he thanked Germany, along withthe UK and France, for issuing statements on the East Sea situation. He askedGermany and other EU members to back Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance on the East Seaissue and urge the parties concerned not to repeat violations, not use force ormilitary actions, respect countries’ legal interests, resolve disputes bypeaceful measures, and respect international law, including the 1982 UNConvention on the Law of the Sea.

At the talks, Ty voiced his hope that the twocountries will keep close coordination at multilateral cooperation mechanisms,especially within the framework of the United Nations, as Vietnam will serve asa non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020 – 2021, Chair ofASEAN for 2020 and Chair of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) for2019 – 2020, while Germany will take over the EU presidency in 2020 and iscurrently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

During their trip to Germany, the VietnameseNA’s delegation visited the state of Hessen where they had meetings withPresident of Hessen’s parliament Boris Rhein and Minister-President of thestate Volker Bouffier.

The Hessen leaders expressed their wish tofurther enhance cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in vocational trainingand the industries which Hessen is strong at.

Both sides agreed that aside from cooperation atthe central level, locality-to-locality partnerships, including betweenVietnamese localities and Hessen, should also be fostered.

Vice Chairman Ty said in the strategicpartnership with Germany, Vietnam always treasures ties with German states,including Hessen, and considers the relationship with Hessen a bright exampleof the two countries’ connections.

The hosts and guest said there remain muchpotential and many opportunities for cooperation between Vietnam and Hessen,especially in the fields of Hessen’s strength and Vietnam’s demand such asindustry, pharmaceutical and vocational training.

They shared the view that the effectiveimplementation of the Vietnamese-German University project, a “lighthouse” ofbilateral cooperation in training, is of important significance reflectingGermany’s goodwill in assisting Vietnam to train skilled human resources amidthe Industry 4.0 era.

At the meetings, both sides also exchangedviewpoints on many international and regional issues of shared concern. Theyshowed their support for the maintenance of multilateral cooperation mechanismson the basis of respecting international law, for the sake peace and stabilityin the regions and the world.

During the visit, the Vietnamese NA’s delegationalso had working sessions with officials of the German military and thefriendship group for relations with the ASEAN nations at the Germanparliament./.