French Ambassador: "Vietnam - France relations develop wonderfully in many fields"

Đại sứ Pháp: Quan hệ Việt - Pháp phát triển tuyệt vời trên nhiều lĩnh vực - 1 — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to Vietnam Olivier Brochet (Photo: Duc Hoang).

"In 1993, then French President Francois Mitterrand visited Vietnam. France was the first Western country to show confidence in Vietnam's reform process and stood side by side with Vietnam during this transition.

Since then, France and Vietnam have developed an exemplary relationship, not only in bilateral relations, but also internationally," said Olivier Brochet, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to Vietnam, speaking on the evening of November 27 at the Ceremony to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Vietnam and France (1973 - 2023).

This event was organized by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam - France Friendship and Cooperation Association with the participation of Mr. Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Party Central Committee's External Relations Commission; Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Social Committee, President of the Vietnam - France Friendship Parliamentarians' Group, President of the Vietnam - France Friendship and Cooperation Association; Ms. Dao Hong Lan, Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Health, and officials representing ministries, departments and branches of the two countries.

Ambassador Brochet said: "Fifty years ago, on the day the two countries established diplomatic relations, after France contributed to the process of helping Vietnam achieve peace and national reunification.

Since then, a very solid foundation has been established for the strong development of relations between the two countries. The friendship between the two countries is deep and sincere, and I believe it will develop even stronger in the future."

The French diplomat recalled the cooperation relations that he described as "excellent" in many fields since the 1990s, such as health, law, science, art, culture, and economy.

"When cooperating with Vietnam, we hope to achieve the best results because Vietnam deserves the best. That is the basis for our achievements in the past time and also the basis for us to have more confidence in good things in the future," the diplomat emphasized.

He also recalled the phone call between French President Emanuel Macron and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong in October, when the two leaders proposed building a new partnership between France and Vietnam to develop relations between the two countries in the next 20 years.

The French Ambassador said that the two leaders agreed that the direction for bilateral relations is based on three pillars: First, supporting Vietnam in asserting its sovereignty in all areas; second, supporting Vietnam in addressing future challenges such as climate change and energy transition; third, promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Mr. Brochet ended his speech with the words: "Long live Vietnam! Long live France! Long live Vietnam - France friendship".

Vietnam - France relations continuously develop substantially and effectively

Đại sứ Pháp: Quan hệ Việt - Pháp phát triển tuyệt vời trên nhiều lĩnh vực - 2 — President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son (Photo: Duc Hoang).

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son said that 2023 is a special year of great significance as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.

Over the years, the Governments and peoples of the two countries have always attached importance to and continuously fostered and developed actively and comprehensively in all fields and at all levels, from cooperation between agencies and ministries at the central and local levels, between schools, hospitals, and businesses to cooperation and people-to-people exchange.

"Looking back over the past 50 years, we can proudly affirm that the friendship and strategic partnership between Vietnam and France have continuously developed and become increasingly substantive and effective. The establishment of a strategic partnership with extensive cooperation in many fields has created an important foundation for the relationship between the two countries to develop further," said Mr. Phan Anh Son.

The two countries always attach importance to and give high priority to the Vietnam - France strategic partnership, promoting multifaceted cooperation in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, culture, education and environment.

Mr. Phan Anh Son emphasized that over the past half century, along with the Party's foreign affairs and State diplomacy activities, people-to-people diplomacy activities have made practical contributions to enhancing mutual understanding, promoting diverse and effective cooperation in all fields, and are a solid foundation for the development of bilateral relations.

Mr. Phan Anh Son believes that in the coming years, the friendship between the people of the two countries will become increasingly stronger, the coordination between the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam - France Friendship and Cooperation Association and Vietnamese people's organizations with French partners and friends will become increasingly effective, contributing to creating a solid foundation to deepen the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and France.

At the ceremony, President of the Vietnam - France Friendship and Cooperation Association Nguyen Thuy Anh reviewed the history of the development of Vietnam - France relations over the past 50 years, emphasizing that "the past 50 years have proven the uniqueness of the relationship between the two nations, knowing how to overcome the ups and downs of history, looking towards the future, becoming increasingly better, trusting and close, becoming important friends and strategic partners of each other".

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh also said that France is not only Europe's leading economic and trade partner and the largest European donor to Vietnam for many decades, but is also the country with which Vietnam has the most vibrant people-to-people exchange.

"On that solid foundation, in the coming time, we and the young generations of Vietnam and France will continue to strive to promote the achievements of the past 50 years, bringing the traditional friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries to continue to deepen and become more effective, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world," she emphasized.

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