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Germany and Viet Nam: Bilateral relations

19.02.2024 - Article

Since 2011, Germany and Viet Nam have had a “strategic partnership” involving cooperation projects at all levels and in numerous policy fields. Their relations are shaped by various forms of intersocietal contact. Germany and Viet Nam regard themselves as partners in endeavours to uphold the rules-based order, respect for international law, multilateralism, global free trade and investment, and environmental and climate protection.

With a bilateral trade volume of around 18 billion euro in 2022, Germany is Viet Nam’s most important trading partner in the EU. Viet Nam is also Germany’s number one trading partner within ASEAN. More than 350 German companies are currently represented in Viet Nam. Total investment amounts to more than 2.8 billion US dollars. This investment has created around 50,000 jobs in Viet Nam.

The free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the European Union, which entered into force on 1 August 2020, gave a further boost to bilateral economic relations as well. The investment protection agreement that was signed at the same time, in mid-2019, still has to be ratified by the individual EU member states.

Development cooperation focusing on implementing the 2030 Agenda, the G7-Just Energy Transition Partnership and the Paris Agreement is another important element in relations between Germany and Viet Nam. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2030 reform strategy defines Viet Nam as a global partner country, with a focus on key issues based on the country’s Green Growth strategy ( vocational education, energy and forest protection).

Bilateral cultural relations are developing well. Many cultural, academic and scientific institutions (including the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Goethe-Institut, the Vietnamese-German University, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA) and the International German School) are active in Viet Nam. The more than 100,000 Vietnamese who have worked or studied in Germany form a unique bridge between the two countries, sustaining and increasing mutual interest.

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