Thuringia State (Germany) as Guest of Honor of Vietnam Foodexpo 2019

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong presided over the meeting with the Ministry of Economy - Science - Digital Society of Thuringia state, Germany

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong highly appreciated the economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in general and with Thuringia State in particular during the past time. 2019 is really a busy year of Vietnam - Germany bilateral relations to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations which will happen in 2020. Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong expected that Thuringia companies could find business cooperation opportunities as well as support Vietnam in the areas of: designing, manufacturing high-tech machines, renewable energy; development of steel industry - metallurgy and supporting industry to create a foundation for Vietnamese industries.

In particular, at the meeting, Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu and Mdm. Valentina Kerst signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Thuringia State as Guest of Honor of the Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition 2019 (Vietnam Foodexpo 2019) which will take place from November 13-16, 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the MOU, Thuringia State will host this State's Special Pavilion at the Exhibition with the participation of its state-of-the-art food and food technology businesses.

Mr. Vu Ba Phu - Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and Mdm. Valentina Kerst - State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy - Science - Digital Society of Thuringia State handed over the MOU to join Vietnam Foodexpo 2019

Vietnam Foodexpo is an important trade promotion event chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, annually organized by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency to develop the domestic market and boost on-the-spot export of Vietnam agricultural and food products.

Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong believes that the Thuringia State as Guest of Honor at Vietnam Foodexpo 2019 will contribute to promoting trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in general and Thuringia State to a new height.

Germany is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner in the European Union (EU), accounting for nearly 20% of Vietnam's exports to the EU. The two countries' bilateral trade turnover in 2018 reached more than USD 10.7 billion, up 12%, of which exports reached USD 6.9 billion, up 8% compared to 2017.

In the first two months of 2019, Vietnam's export turnover to Germany reached USD 994.2 million, imports from Germany was USD 665.8 million.

Particularly for the Thuringia State, the state's export turnover to Vietnam reached USD 71.5 million in 2018, an increase of nearly 70% compared to 2017. The Thuringia State's import turnover from Vietnam remained stable at USD 79 million. Vietnam's main exports to Thuringia are electronics, telephones, garments, leather goods and furniture. Vietnam imports from the Thuringia State machines, optical equipment, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, etc.

Regarding investment, as of February 2019, Germany had 322 FDI projects with a total registered capital of more than USD 1.97 billion, ranking 18/130 countries and territories with investment capital in Vietnam. On the other hand, Vietnamese companies had 12 projects registered to invest in Germany with a total registered capital of more than USD 31 million.

Currently there are about 300 German companies operating in Vietnam with major investment sectors: manufacturing and processing industries, supporting industries, namely parts manufacturing and green energy.