During his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20 summit on 23/11, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam views developing relations with France as an objective requirement and a very important choice. He proposed that both sides continue to maintain exchanges of delegations at all levels and expressed hope to welcome the French Prime Minister to Vietnam soon, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two leaders discussed extreme weather conditions and climate change, which are causing natural disasters globally. President Macron expressed deep sympathy with the Vietnamese people regarding the loss of life and property caused by recent storms and floods. Both sides emphasized the need to share responsibility and cooperate to prevent, mitigate, and overcome the severe consequences of climate change.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met President Macron at the G20 summit on 23/11. Photo: VGP

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested France to continue coordinating the effective implementation of the Vietnam - European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). He also urged France to promptly ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and encourage the European Commission to lift the IUU yellow card on Vietnamese seafood.

President Macron noted that agreements reached between high-level leaders of the two countries in economics, trade, science, technology, and defense are being implemented effectively. He agreed that both sides should soon finalize and adopt the Action Plan for implementing the Joint Declaration on the Vietnam - France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Discussing international and regional issues of mutual concern, the two leaders shared common interests regarding global trade and non-traditional security challenges, especially cybersecurity. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed France's cybersecurity initiative and agreed that both sides should enhance coordination in this area. President Macron agreed that both sides need to unite, cooperate closely, and enhance strategic autonomy amidst the current volatile international political and trade landscape, coordinating with partners to support multilateralism and international law.

On the same day, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. During this meeting, Prime Minister Chinh affirmed Vietnam's consistent appreciation for its Strategic Partnership with Germany and highly valued Germany's leading role within the European Union.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the G20 summit on 23/11. Photo: VGP

Vietnam welcomed and supported Germany's active presence in the Asia - Pacific region, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, and common sustainable development goals. The two leaders emphasized the importance of solidarity, friendship, and cooperation in the current global and regional context. They affirmed the need to continue promoting free trade, the flow of goods and services, removing bottlenecks, and facilitating business production to serve the interests of the people.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested Germany to continue providing official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam in areas such as energy, environment, and vocational training. He also urged the promotion of long-term cooperation frameworks in vocational training with Vietnam based on Germany's dual vocational training model, facilitating the recognition of Vietnamese vocational degrees according to German standards, and continuing to support and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Germany.

Chancellor Merz highly appreciated Vietnam's growing role and position in the region and globally, as well as its comprehensive achievements recently. He affirmed Vietnam as an important partner in Germany's Asia - Pacific policy, emphasizing the desire to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in areas where both sides have complementary needs and strengths. These areas include minerals, high-speed rail, vocational training, defense industry development, and cybersecurity. He also proposed that the two countries boost cooperation in vocational training. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the two countries should cooperate to ensure security and combat various types of crime, including those related to national security, to ensure social stability.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also met with several other leaders on the same day: Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann.

Pham Giang