Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thinh, Permanent Vice President of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in Germany, Head of the research team at TU Dortmund University. (Source: VNA)

On the eve of the State visit of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender to Vietnam, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thinh, Head of the Research Group at TU Dortmund University, Permanent Vice President of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in the Federal Republic of Germany, affirmed that the Vietnamese community in the Federal Republic of Germany expects many famous corporations and enterprises in Germany accompanying President Steinmeier to Vietnam to sign many cooperation agreements in the fields of diplomacy, politics, science-technology, economics, culture, tourism, etc.

Prof. Nguyen Xuan Thinh also hopes that the potential and room for cooperation between the two countries will be further exploited, helping to deepen and broaden the strategic cooperation between the two states, contributing to the prosperous development of Vietnam and the Federal Republic of Germany, and fostering peace, order and stability in the region and the world.

The expert said that during this visit, the German President will visit the Vietnam-Germany University in Binh Duong province. This is a "lighthouse" project in the friendly relationship between Vietnam and the Federal Republic of Germany and also a project that contributes to training scientists and intellectuals for Vietnam.

The visit is also an important historical milestone in Vietnam-Germany relations and is a testament to the continued success of the identity of "Vietnamese bamboo diplomacy" as well as Vietnam's position in the international arena.

Accordingly, the German President's visit to Vietnam took place shortly after the visits of US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to Hanoi. This visit is even more meaningful in the context of many fluctuations in the world's political situation.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thinh emphasized that the visit is an affirmation by the German Government that Vietnam is a strategic partner with a new position. He said that after hearing the news of the German President's visit to Vietnam, the Vietnamese community in general and he personally were very excited and happy because this is a good signal for the Vietnamese community to have more strong activities towards their roots, at the same time, it is a source of further encouragement for trust as well as fostering love for the country and roots in the Vietnamese community in Germany.

Regarding scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries, Professor Nguyen Xuan Thinh said that Vietnam is an important partner of many ministries and sectors of the Federal Republic of Germany, such as the Ministry of Education and Research; Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection; Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection; Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

In recent years, Germany has had many funding programs to support Vietnam in research and application of science and technology in many different fields, such as the International Climate Initiative, the Environmental Protection Technology Export Initiative, climate protection, as well as participating in supporting Vietnam in implementing the Paris Agreement and supporting Vietnam in achieving the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Germany has strengths in scientific research for green growth, green technology development, environmental protection technology, climate protection, and climate change adaptation. These are also the areas in which Vietnam has had many cooperation projects and received funding from Germany in recent years. In addition, there are fields such as machinery manufacturing, healthcare, and Industry 4.0 technology.

The two sides also increased cooperation in innovation, start-ups, human resource training and exchange of high-quality labor resources. These are areas with great potential that need to be exploited more deeply and developed more strongly, requiring exchanges and connections between both sides at all levels, from the central to local levels.

Regarding the Innovation Network, of which Professor Nguyen Xuan Thinh is currently the Chairman, he said that this network was established in September 2019, and since then has regularly conducted activities to connect intellectuals, experts, young scientists, students, and Vietnamese-German researchers in Germany with each other and with experts around the world as well as in Vietnam; Organize seminars to enhance the competitiveness of the Vietnamese intellectual community in Germany, help enhance the position of the Vietnamese-German intellectual community in this country, and at the same time build technology transfer projects, scientific and technological research cooperation projects, and scientific and technological application projects in Vietnam.

In the coming time, according to Professor Nguyen Xuan Thinh, the Innovation Network will continue to further promote relationships, collaboration and support the National Innovation Center in Vietnam in the field of innovation, building and developing modern technology for Vietnam.

"We hope that many experts and intellectuals working at famous German universities and technology research institutes can build technology transfer projects for Vietnam, especially in technology areas that Vietnam is currently in great need of such as electronic microchips, semiconductors, healthcare, smart agriculture, environmental protection, climate protection, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence," said Professor Nguyen Xuan Thinh.

He said he is currently preparing to organize technology events such as Techfest and Vietnam's IT-Day in Germany to connect Vietnamese IT businesses with IT businesses in Germany.

In addition, the Innovation Network also helps delegations of the government, ministries, branches, and provinces of Vietnam to visit and practice in the Federal Republic of Germany, creating conditions and assisting delegations to visit famous corporations, universities, and modern research institutes in Germany. At the same time, the network helps Vietnamese corporations and enterprises penetrate more strongly into the Federal Republic of Germany market as well as the European Union (EU) market.