The Embassy of Vietnam organised a ceremony in Berlin on February 5 to launch the “Vietnamese Year in Germany - 2010†and welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year Festival. This was the first in a series of important events to be held throughout 2010 by the embassy and overseas Vietnamese in Germany to celebrate 35 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office Cornelia Pieper and a number of German officials, parliamentarians and friends joined Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Vietnamese Ambassador in Germany Do Hoa Binh and close to 1,000 overseas Vietnamese at the event.
Opening the event, Cuong said leaders of the two countries decided to hold the “Vietnamese Year in Germany†and the “German Year in Vietnam†under the sponsorship of State President Nguyen Minh Triet and President Horst Koehler.
These are large-scaled events covering a wide range of activities in the fields of politics, economy, culture and people’s exchanges in different localities in both countries, he said.
The activities will serve as good chances to introduce the history, culture and people of each country in order to increase the mutual understanding between the Vietnamese and German people thus strengthening the Vietnam-Germany friendship and comprehensive cooperation, Cuong said.
The Deputy Minister noted that Germany is now Vietnam’s leading partner in Europe in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, culture, education, science and technology.
President Horst Koehler’s visit to Vietnam in 2007 and the Germany trip by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung a year later created a foundation to boost bilateral relations in a more practical, effective and comprehensive manner.
Two-way trade reaching USD4.6 billion in 2009 and expected to climb up to USD5 billion this year, the official added.
The two countries have cooperated and supported each other at multilateral and international forums as well as in dealing with global challenges.
The Vietnamese community in Germany has now numbered 100,000, contributing greatly to the country’s economic and cultural development.
Minister of State Pieper said Vietnam is a leading political partner of Germany in Southeast Asia and development of Germany-Vietnam ties is the focus of all activities during 2010.
The “Vietnamese Year in Germany†and the “Germany Year in Vietnam†will lay a foundation to elevate the bilateral relations to a new level, she said.
The Minister of State spoke highly of the contributions made by overseas Vietnamese to expanding the friendship between the two countries.
Last month, Pieper visited the capital city of Hanoi to open the “German Year in Vietnam.â€