Germany would strongly support Viet
Nam’s efforts to increase co-operation with the European Union, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.

In a
telephone conversation with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last Thursday, the
German leader said she would do her best to help the Viet Nam-EU Partnership and
Co-operation Agreement (PCA) gain approval by the EU.

The
agreement, completed last year following two-years of negotiations, is expected
to provide a framework for stronger co-operation in many areas between Viet Nam
and European countries.

Merkel
also promised her support so that negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement
between Viet Nam and the EU could get started.

Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said he was pleased with the multifaceted co-operation
between Viet Nam and Germany, the country’s biggest EU trade partner.

Two-way
trade volume, which reached more than US$4.1 billion last year, has increased by
about 15 per cent year-on-year.

The two
Government leaders discussed measures to put on track major co-operation
projects, including metro route number 2 and the Viet Nam-Germany University,
both in HCM City.

The
Vietnamese Prime Minister said he was happy that Germany continued to offer
official development assistance (ODA) to Viet Nam, despite the credit crunch in
Europe.

A visit
to Viet Nam by the German Chancellor has been scheduled for October this year.

More
than 200 German enterprises, including world giants, operate in the Vietnamese
market.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News