Under the slogan “Solidarity with Vietnam” against the “imperialist aggressor” (the US), numerous GDR citizens provided aid.

[4] In return for the provision of development aid amounting to one billion East German marks, Vietnam subsequently sent 200,000 guest workers to the GDR.

[7] The sale was made public in 1991 by a report in Der Spiegel and confirmed by Boehringer Ingelheim another year later.

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.

Since 2011, more meetings have been held to improve cooperation on project funding, including in the areas of political-strategic dialog, business, trade and investment, justice and law, development cooperation and environmental protection, education, science, technology, culture, media and society.

[14] Vietnam is in the process of ratifying a free trade agreement with the European Union which includes Germany as Europe's largest economy.