Germany–Vietnam_relations

Germany–Vietnam relations

Germany–Vietnam relations

Bilateral relations

Germany–Vietnam relations are the bilateral relations between Germany and Vietnam.

Quick Facts Vietnam ...

Germany has an embassy in Hanoi while Vietnam has an embassy in Berlin and a consulate general in Frankfurt.

History

World War I

During the first 6 months of World War I the government-general of French Indochina expelled all German and Austro-Hungarian people living in French Indochina.[1]

The two largest pre-war import/export houses, Speidel & Co. and F. Engler & Co., were German companies which caused them to be officially re-organised as French companies, however in reality they continued to operate under both German control and using German capital.[1] During the 1910s Speidel & Co. was the largest importer of European goods into the country with Engler being one of its major competitors.[1] After the German owners were expulsed from the company lower level employees tried to continue running these companies despite increasing push back from the French colonial authorities by means of arbitrary customs enforcement, freight interference, and regulatory aggravations.[2][1] Later the French would seize all of the German Speidel Company's warehouses and would sell the seized goods at low prices both to Vietnamese consumers and Chinese exporters to try and increase revenue.[1] These goods included rice, wine, and canned goods.[1]

2017 kidnapping of Trịnh Xuân Thanh

In 2017, Trịnh Xuân Thanh, a former communist party member and businessman who was accused of being corrupt, was secretly abducted and kidnapped in Berlin by a group of unnamed Vietnamese personnel believed to be Vietnamese agents in Germany.[3] In response, Germany accused Vietnam for "violating the territorial rights of Germany" and ordered a total expulsion of a number of Vietnamese foreign officials in Germany.[4] Germany also suspended Vietnamese workers from going to Germany to start for investigation.[5] Although tensions have been lessened, the German officials remain skeptical toward and continue to distrust their Vietnamese counterparts.

Agreements

In October 2011, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng signed the "Hanoi Declaration", establishing a Strategic Partnership between Germany and Vietnam that is designed to strengthen political, economic and cultural relations and development cooperation.[6]

Economic relations

Vietnam is in the process of ratifying a free trade agreement with the European Union which includes Germany as Europe's largest economy. In 2016, bilateral trade was worth US$10.3 billion.[6]

Education cooperation

The Vietnamese-German University was opened in Ho Chi Minh City in September 2008.[6]

Diplomatic representatives

Vietnamese ambassadors to Germany

South Vietnam ambassadors to West Germany (in Bonn)
  1. Hà Vĩnh Phương (1957–1963, Chargé d'affaires)
  2. Phan Văn Thính (1963–1964, Chargé d'affaires)
  3. Nguyễn Quí Anh (1964–1968)
  4. Nguyễn Duy Liễn (1968–1974)
  5. Nguyễn Phương Thiệp (1974–1975, until the Fall of Saigon)

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Erica J. Peters (8 October 2014). "Food and Nutrition (Indochina). - Version 1.0". 1914-1918-online - International Encyclopedie of the First World War (Free University of Berlin, Bavarian State Library, and Deutsch-Französische Gymnasium, among others). Retrieved 21 August 2022. - Peters, Erica J.: Food and Nutrition (Indochina), in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin (2014-10-08). DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.10321.
  2. [2]
    Centre des Archives d’Outre-Mer in Aix-en-Provence (hereafter CAOM): Archives of the Governor General of Indochina (hereafter GGI), dossier 19457: 20 November 1914 letter from Governor General Vollenhoven to the Minister of Colonies.
  3. [3]
    Tanriverdi, Hakan; Zierer, Max; Wetter, Ann-Kathrin; Biermann, Kai; Nguyen, Thi Do (October 8, 2020). Nierle, Verena; Schöffel, Robert; Wreschniok, Lisa (eds.). "Lined up in the sights of Vietnamese hackers". Bayerischer Rundfunk. Ex-politician and businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh was strolling through the park Berliner Tiergarten with his girlfriend when presumably agents of the Vietnamese secret service jumped out of a van and dragged the two inside. With the kidnapping on German grounds, they not only broke international law but also the arm of Thanh's lover. [...] The price for this operation was probably very high, both financially and diplomatically. The relations between Vietnam and Germany were suspended.
  4. [4]
    "Germany expels Vietnam diplomat after kidnapping". Financial Times. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  5. [5]
    "Kidnapped? Vietnamese businessman disapears [sic] from Berlin – DW – 08/02/2017". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  6. [6]
    "Federal Foreign Office".
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