The Konrad Adenauer Foundation Vietnam in cooperation with Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and University of Social Sciences and Humanities Ho Chi Minh city organized two consecutive workshops on "German Foreign Policy in a Changing World" on 31/10/2023 - 03/11/2023, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Jacob Schrot – Associate Fellow of German Council on Foreign Relations is the main workshop instructor.

The workshop was designed to help participants understand the current foreign and security policy challenges facing Germany and Europe. Over four days, Jacob Schrot used his practical background knowledge to explain the key challenges facing Germany in particular and how these correspond to the challenges at the European level and what differences exist. This detailed presentation helped the students and young professionals with a basic interest in foreign and security policy contexts as well as the senior lecturers and researchers with advanced knowledge in foreign and security policy to understand the interests and strategies of the individual actors.

In the first part, Jacob Schrot presented the norms and principles that guide Germany's actions in international relations. Subsequently, he revealed an investigation into the word "Zeitenwende" and why this term represented a fundamental break in the foreign policy tradition. This served the participants to gain specific knowledge and experience action from a new perspective. In the discussion that followed, there was an active exchange on the differences and similarities between the approaches of the nations of Vietnam and Germany. Jacob Schrot then used an interactive format of four case studies (Libya, Ukraine-Russia, Sahel, Indo-Pacific) to shed light on the changing role of Germany and Europe in the world. The case studies were ideal for specific discussions. The workshop concluded with an assessment of European foreign and security policy in terms of its opportunities and limitations in the 21st century under the concept of "European sovereignty" coined by Macron. The numerous responses to Jacob Schrot's assessment led to an intensive exchange, which was always discussed under the question of which strategy Germany and Europe should pursue. The Vietnamese participants' assessment of the German perspective proved to be insightful and valuable due to their different socialization and experiences.