Hanoi and Berlin aim to strengthen economic and trade cooperation
Hanoi (AsiaNews)
- Strengthening economic cooperation between Berlin and Hanoi, enhancing connections
with direct flights and spreading the German language and culture in the Asian
nation. These
are just some of the many topics on the agenda of Philipp Rosler,
Federal Minister for Economics and Technology, Vice-Chancellor and one of Angela Merkel's closest collaborators, who will be on official visit to
Vietnam from September 17 to 19 next. Of
Vietnamese origin, the German politician will also lead a delegation of
entrepreneurs and businessmen from the European nation to the Germany-Vietnam
Economic Forum, scheduled for the 19 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Philipp
Rosler (pictured), a Catholic, was born in February 1973 in the province of Soc
Trang, the territory of South Vietnam during the war. As
an orphan, he was taken into a Catholic orphanage run by nuns, and later placed
in the foster care of a German couple when he was only nine months old. The
Minister was thus raised in Germany first in Hamburg, then Buckeburg and
Hanover. In
1992 he graduated from university with a degree in medicine.
Since
2011 he has held the posts of Minister for Economics and Technology and
Vice-Chancellor of Germany, in addition to having a role within his own party,
he is in fact the President of the Liberal Democratic Party and is also a
leading member of the General Conference of the German Catholics Central Committee.
The
Vietnamese are placing a lot o hope in the visit by the German politician, according
to their ambassador in Germany Hoang Oanh Nguyen Thi - Hanoi appreciates the
work of Rosler in "developing strategic relations between the two
countries." Berlin
is considered a strategic partner for Vietnam in Europe and thanks to the
collaboration between the two governments there will soon be a German-Vietnamese
university (for the spread of the German language) and the second metro line in
Ho Chi Minh City.
However,
the focus is on economic and trade partnerships, in virtue of the fact that
Germany is the main actor on a commercial scale in Europe. It
is expected that Berlin will support a range of initiatives for development and
at the same time create a welcoming environment for Vietnamese expatriates who
choose Germany as their ultimate destination. The
Vietnamese goal is to become, , an industrialized nation by 2020and encourage
private investors, particularly in the field of infrastructure and transport. Plans are already being put in place for a
direct air link between the two capitals.
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