BAD NAUHEIM (pm) The enthusiasm from Gordon Kirstein and his colleague Steffen Mauer can still be seen several days after their return. They spent almost a week in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with an economic delegation led by Christian Paschen from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The trip, which was dubbed the “business initiation trip”, had mainly IT topics on the agenda. “There is a considerable need in Vietnam, and because of the history, the USA, for example, is not an option as a partner,” reports Kirstein, founder and managing director of the Bad Nauheim IT specialist movetech.
After an introductory event at which Konrad Lax from the German embassy in Vietnam and the chairman of the Chamber of Foreign Trade in Vietnam, Marko Walde, provided information about the current economic situation, several meetings with interested companies and institutions were on the agenda every day. Kirstein: “On the one hand, it was about exchanging knowledge in order to find a common denominator, and then very quickly about opportunities for cooperation or collaboration.” movetech, who specialise in security solutions for companies and corporate networks, vividly demonstrated in their presentations which gaps can arise in online work and, above all, how to prevent them. “We try to approach the matter less theoretically, but to demonstrate ways with practical examples”, explains Mauer.
Kirstein is not yet able to say whether the talks will actually become economic relations. “It was an incredible experience and it also honours us that we were invited to this trip.” They are still in contact with some companies. “The idea is, among other things, that we pass on our know-how in training courses — in Bad Nauheim or Vietnam — and these specialists then act as multipliers and intermediaries between movetech and the Vietnamese partners.” In any case, Kirstein excludes engagement directly in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City: “It is a great country with an emerging economy and lots of impulses. We would be happy to offer support there, but our core market is Germany and Europe.”
