Vietnam, Germany augment financial cooperation
A Vietnamese delegation led by Finance Minister Ho Duc Phuc paid a working visit to Germany from July 9 to July 13 in order to exchange experience in public financial management as a means of moving towards green growth with relevant German agencies.
The purpose of the visit is to ramp up bilateral financial co-operation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and competent German agencies on green finance towards green growth, whilst also stabilising and developing the financial and securities markets moving forward.
This is along with speeding up the upgrade and achieving the market upgrade standard in line with the stock market development strategy approved by the Government, mobilising ODA capital in support of the renovation of public financial management in Vietnam, and bolstering ties in tax and customs between both sides.
During the working sessions held with representatives from German agencies, Minister Phuc shared details of Vietnamese macroeconomics over the years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how the nation overcame the negative impacts of the pandemic to stabilise and develop its economy.
Minister Phuc went on to highlight the leadership of the Party, State, and Government, particularly the implementation of the right policies in response to the pandemic and the support of the international community. This includes the precious support of the Government and people of Germany as shown by its donation of more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, a move which helped the country to overcome the pandemic and quickly return to the right track for economic growth.
Currently, the nation is focusing resources on economic recovery through schemes in support of social welfare, health care, and infrastructure system development.
Regarding the policy of sustainable development towards green growth, Minister Phuc said that the Vietnamese Government has made great efforts in order to find effective solutions for energy conversion, climate change adaptation, and solar energy development for production and consumption.
In terms of Vietnam, clear and serious signs of the impact of climate change on production include saltwater intrusion and prolonged drought in the Southeast provinces. As a means of solving this situation, the Minister said that it is necessary to outline a comprehensive solution coupled with international co-operation.
From the perspective of bilateral ties between Germany and Vietnam, the two sides must ramp up co-operation in terms of financial policies aimed at promoting carbon emission reduction, as well as sharing experience in capital market development and the green bond market. This should be done whilst improving institutions and policies in support of firms in transform production towards greening and reducing emissions in order to fulfill commitments at the 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The Minister expressed his hope that the German Government would continue to support the country in promoting the renewal of the growth model and sustainable development through ODA programmes and projects with a view of carrying out solutions to deal with sea level rise and saltwater intrusion.
The Minister also anticipates that the German Government co-operate and share new technologies applied in projects and activities that change the economic structure and are environmentally friendly, including projects using hydrogen energy and wind power energy exploitation technology. As a result, the country is prioritising these areas for the sake of sustainable development and environmental protection.
Talking to State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance Luise Hölscher, Minister Phuc expressed his wish to further bolster ties between the two sides in the field of tax and customs. This can be done whilst continuing to negotiate and signing a customs cooperation agreement, as well as exchanging experience in applying information technology in customs management and conducting investigations into smuggling, law violations, and trade frauds.
Leaders of German agencies therefore expressed their great impression and appreciation of Vietnamese economic achievements during the common difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, Germany highly appreciates sustained Vietnamese efforts in formulating policies and plans for the development of clean energy sources, placing great importance on the task of combating global climate change. Indeed, other important efforts include building a power grid system to replace fossil fuels and trying to exploit renewable energy such as solar energy and wind energy.
The German side also proposed that the nation consider speeding up the disbursement of approved ODA for the co-operation programme in 2022 and make effective use of this capital in a bid to serve the country's renewable energy projects.
The Central European nation also desires to continue to accompany, co-operate and support the Vietnamese side in its efforts to achieve the goals of boosting energy transformation and revamping the technological infrastructure for macroeconomic development and green growth.
As part of the visit, the delegation held a working session with the Vietnamese in Berlin, during which Ambassador Vu Quang Minh informed them about bilateral ties across a variety of fields, adding that there is ample room for both nations to bolster bilateral co-operation, especially in terms of economics and trade.
