A good start into 2021 – On Tuesday, 12 January, the Vietnamese German Joint Economic Committee (JEC) was officially launched in Hanoi and Berlin.
The Kick-Off included several prominent representatives from politics and economy on both sides: The Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Tran Tuan Anh and the German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Mr. Peter Altmaier underlined the aim to further intensify and improve the ties between the two countries.
The JEC is an initiative brought forward and prepared jointly by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the German Business think tank Asia-Pacific Commission of German Business (APA). The aim of this collaboration is to intensify the development of strong synergies and business relations. Respectively, following the key aspects of the Strategic Action Plan of 2020/2021, the dialog focused on industrial cooperation, energy and vocational training.
Joe Kaeser, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Commission of German Business and CEO of Siemens Global stated, that the 21st century will become and is already an “Asian Century”, highlighting the growing relevance of Vietnam as a player, not only in the region but globally and especially for Germany.
Acknowledgment of Vietnam’s successful crisis management
Peter Altmaier acknowledged the successful management of the global pandemic as well as the good crisis management of the floods that hit the center of Vietnam in 2020.
Furthermore, he expressed his hopes that the number of German investments and businesspeople in Vietnam will further increase, which is currently around 380 registered German Foreign Direct Investments.
As a representative for German Manufacturing Businesses in Vietnam, Alexander Goetz, General Manager of Fischer Asia, Co., Ltd. and Co-Chairman of the German Business Association, shared his industry experience and appealed to further ensure a reliable infrastructure, especially in terms of transportation and logistics cost.
The Kick-Off Meeting was supported by the engagement of the German Delegation for Industry and Commerce (AHK Vietnam) under Mr. Marko Walde and Ms. Almut Roessner, Executive Member of the Board at German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV), who jointly moderated the session, that had over 200 participants online in Germany and Vietnam.
The inaugural meeting was held in Hanoi led by Mr. Tran Tuan Anh. Among the numerous high-ranking Vietnamese officials and representatives, also the German Ambassador Dr. Guido Hildner and Deputy Head of Mission Weert Boerner attended. Mr. Horst Geicke, Chairman of the Deutsches Haus Ho Chi Minh City and Member of the Board of the European Union – Vietnam Business Council and GBA Co-Chairman and B.Braun Vietnam Country Manager Torben Minko witnessed the Kick-Off together with Mr.Bjoern Koslowkski, Deputy Head AHK Vietnam, and Dr. Frauke Schmitz-Bauerdick (GTAI Vietnam).
In Ho Chi Minh City, the Deutsches Haus and the German Business Association hosted a streaming event of the digital Kick-Off meeting for members of the German Business Association, that took place simultaneously in German and Vietnamese language.
Click here>>> to read the official press release by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (German language)