Angela Merkel To Boost Trade By Vietnam Visit

Online, November 30, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel has set her foot in Vietnam, Asia, leaving the crisis ridden European zone. She is here to push a free trade deal and the human rights on the Communist Nation, Vietnam.

Merkel said that European nations are seriously pressurized owing to their concern to reduce public debt, when compared with Vietnam and other younger nations. She further added, "Eurozone countries have the political will to overcome this public debt crisis. The root of the problem is problems with the banks."

She looked into great prospects Vietnam has, as it is an emerging country and has witnessed a fast paced economic growth. It is also a powerful competitor to a large country like China, she remarked. Merkel is in Vietnam to primarily push free trade between Vietnam and the European Union. She further said that Germany strongly supports this deal. Consequently Merkel and Dung, the Vietnamese Prime Minister, have signed a "Strategic Partnership" which is pretty similar to the ones signed by Vietnam with China, Japan, Russia and Korea.

At a joint news conference, Dung said that there is great scope for trade between the two countries, last year the two traded T $5 billion.

On issues of human rights, Merkel before her visit said, "Economic cooperation is of course tied to complying with human rights. And I will of course raise such questions when I am there."

Not just the European Union but the US too, often criticizes Vietnam for imprisonment of bloggers and activists that seek o challenge the single party rule in the nation. The European Union called for the release of a French-Vietnamese blogger called Pham Minh Hoang. Merkel further said, "Developing human rights as well as religious freedom and freedom of the press is very important."

Merkel will travel to Magnolia after the Vietnamese tour.