BERLIN, Oct 10: Fresh from a crisis meeting with France on the euro, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to embark on Monday on a visit to Vietnam and Mongolia hoping to push deals on trade and precious raw materials.

Ahead of the four-day visit, Merkel, who will be accompanied by top business leaders eyeing up investment opportunities, stressed the need to boost ties between the two fast-growing Asian nations and Europe's top economy.

A senior government source in Berlin said Merkel would push for the conclusion of a free-trade accord between the EU and Vietnam. Germany “is a very strong supporter” of such a deal, the source said.

Nevertheless, Merkel insisted she would not shy away from tackling what Berlin sees as a “deficit” in Vietnam's human rights record.

Economic cooperation “is of course tied to complying with human rights. And I will of course raise such questions when I am there,” Merkel said.

The European Union has frequently chided Vietnam for its record of upholding freedom of expression and in August called for the release of a French-Vietnamese blogger, who is an EU citizen.

Merkel noted that Germany and Vietnam have long enjoyed close relations, stemming from the days before the fall of the Berlin Wall, when young Vietnamese came to study or work in the former communist east.

After Vietnam, Merkel heads to Mongolia for the first visit by a German leader since the two countries established diplomatic relations, with media speculating that deals worth $2 billion could be inked.

“Mongolia is a country very rich in raw materials and we have a very, very good chance to improve our cooperation in this field,” Merkel said.—AFP