Luxembourg and Vietnam Ministers Discuss Strengthened Bilateral Cooperation

Today, on 14 November 2017, Luxembourg Minister of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Romain Schneider, undertook a working visit to Hanoi, Vietnam to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries.

In the context of his visit, Minister Schneider met the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Chi Dzung, to discuss future cooperation between Luxembourg and Vietnam and to sign a new General Agreement on Co-operation that paves the way for the diversification of relations between the two countries, beyond official development assistance.

During the bilateral meeting between the two ministers, Romain Schneider first expressed Luxembourg's solidarity with the Vietnamese people and offered his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of Typhoon Damrey. This typhoon recently hit the centre and the south of Vietnam causing significant damage and the death of many people. In response, Luxembourg will provide €100,000 in humanitarian aid to help the victims.

The ministers then returned to the topic of the close historic relations between Luxembourg and Vietnam which date back to 1993. Indeed in 1995, Vietnam became a partner country of the Luxembourg Cooperation and since the beginning of this relationship, Luxembourg has financed more than 80 development projects in Vietnam for a total budget of more than €129 million. Having reached the status of middle-income country in 2009, Vietnam and Luxembourg closed their last Indicative Cooperation Program at the end of 2015.

Wishing to strengthen relations between Luxembourg and Vietnam beyond the traditional donor-recipient relations, Ministers Romain Schneider and Nguyen Chi Dzung signed a new General Cooperation Agreement providing for the establishment of a diversified bilateral partnership encompassing research, renewable energy, climate change and finance sectors. Future projects may be implemented in cooperation with various Luxembourg ministries. The ministers also stressed the desire to strengthen trade relations between the two countries.

Minister Romain Schneider's working visit to Asia will continue in Vientiane, Laos from 14 to 16 November 2017.