Greater effort urged to reach new heights in relations with Germany

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung welcomes German Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development Dirk Niebel at a reception in Ha Noi yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam

Dung made the remark at a reception for Niebel in the capital city yesterday, requesting that the German Government continue to grant more development assistance to Viet Nam, especially for projects that address environment protection and climate change.

The Prime Minister said he was delighted that relations between the countries had been successful, particularly in the areas of trade, investment, education and training.

He also expressed his support and pledged to create favourable conditions for German investors in Viet Nam.

During the talks, he lauded the success that the minister and Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc had had. Dung said the visit would help the two sides' relations become increasingly effective and practical.

Minister Niebel said Germany had just decided to grant another 19 million euros to help Viet Nam provide vocational training and cope with the effects of climate change.

He said Viet Nam had been a very important partner for Germany, especially in trade, investment, education and training. For this reason, Germany wanted to expand its investment in these areas with Viet Nam.

Alumni

Viet Nam and Germany have paved the way to explore potential co-operation activities with the launch of a new alumni network.

The Alumniportal Deutschland (APD) at www.alumniportal-deutschland.org was announced by Dirk Niebel yesterday in Ha Noi. The online platform helps global professional and personal networking between Alumni of Germany associations and partners from business, science, culture and public administration.

The portal would provide an opportunity for the almost 200,000 Vietnamese people who have lived and studied in Germany to connect with each other. These connections would help the two countries promote their co-operation, said the minister.

Viet Nam was the third Asian country, after Indonesia and Mongolia, to launch the Alumniportal Deutschland. Other portals have opened in six African countries. Currently, the networking portal has 14,000 registered users from 176 countries.

Through the APD, alumni would receive updates about additional training opportunities, jobs and other relevant career information. APD was designed as a joint project between a number of German organisations. Financing was provided by the German Ministry of Economic Development and Co-operation.

Approximately 80,000 Vietnamese people currently live in Germany, about 100,000 of whom have enrolled in training and study programmes.

"The Alumniport is really building a bridge between German and Vietnamese businesses," said an InWEnt alumni, Phung Phuong Lan, who is now chief of the HCM City Representative Office of Germany-based BHF Bank. "This is paving the way for big co-operation opportunities and should be taken advantage of."

The Vietnamese community in Germany, which has four times as many students as it did in 1997, has gained respect for their diligence and desire for progress, said German Minister Niebel.

A conference on career and co-operation, organised for the first time for all Vietnamese who have studied or received some education and training in Germany, welcomed 800 participants.

Vocational training was one of the key components in the co-operation and development programme between Germany and Viet Nam, said Niebel after the opening of the two-day conference.

This conference was an official event of the "Deutschland in Viet Nam-2010." — VNS