PM Nguyen Tan Dung starts official visit to Germany Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived in Stuttgart city, Baden Wuerttemberg, in the afternoon of October 14 (Vietnam time), beginning his official visit to Germany at the invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was welcomed by Minister-President of Baden Wuerttemberg Winfried Kretschmann, who also expressed his hope to ratchet up connection between Baden Wuerttemberg and Vietnamese localities, particularly in education-training and the manufacturing industry. Winfried Kretschmann gave his special appreciation of the organisation of the Vietnam-Baden Wuerttemberg Economic Dialogue with the view of accelerating the two sides’ economic, trade and investment links. PM Nguyen Tan Dung said that the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Germany made positive progress in various areas, as reflected by Germany’s current status as the leading European partner of Vietnam. He declared that the Vietnamese Government will provide every possible condition for businesspeople from Baden Wuerttemberg to undertake long-term and productive operations in Vietnam, especially for those engaging in the manufacturing of equipment, pharmaceutical chemistry, green energy and vocational training. He proposed both sides increase affiliation in vocational training, labour affairs, education and training and science and technology. Before landing Stuttgart, PM Dung had a meeting with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz in Brussels, Belgium, during which he emphasised the European Parliament’s role in fostering the Vietnam-European Union relations and asked for its strong support for an early signing and ratification of an EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FVFTA). The President pledged that he will work for the ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the signing of the EVFTA in 2015. He appreciated Vietnam’s role in dealing peacefully with disputes in the East Sea in line with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.-VNA