Vietnam-Germany Trade to Hit US$5 Bln This Year

“Two-way trade between Vietnam and Germany has increased continuously in recent years and is predicated to hit US$5 billion this year”, said Mr Nguyen Huu Thien, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association at a ceremony on October 3, 2011 to mark the 21st anniversary of German Unification Day.

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, as Vietnam’s leading EU trade partner, Germany mainly imports Vietnam’s footwear, garment, aquatic and agricultural products – especially coffee beans and black pepper – while exports machinery, electrical appliances, equipment for mining and construction, garment, automobiles and pharmaceutical industries to Vietnam.

 

Mr. Thien said Germany is one of Vietnam’s leading partners in the EU, importing footwear, garments, textiles, seafood and agricultural products while exporting machinery, construction equipment, automobiles and pharmaceuticals to Vietnam.

 

Currently, Germany has 210 businesses and representative offices operating in the country, investing in 139 projects with total registered capital of US$778 million, and ranking 22nd among 89 foreign investors in Vietnam.

 

The two sides are currently deploying a number of projects focused on infrastructure and energy. The German side is paying particular attention to building metro route No.2 in HCM City and Vietnam’s National Assembly House, as well as putting a new international airport in the south into operation.

 

At the meeting, the German Consulate General in HCM City, Conrad Cappell, said the German government is pursuing a policy of developing comprehensive relations with Vietnam in most fields especially in politics, culture, economics, science, development policies and legal procedures.

 

The diplomat emphasized that Germany will continue to assist Vietnam, and that the upcoming visit to Vietnam by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel will bring the relations between the two countries to a new height.