Wishing to strongly promote cooperation in developing transport infrastructure between Vietnam and France

At the reception, appreciating the visit of Minister Philippe Tabarot, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the two countries have recently upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the issue is to actively and diligently strengthen cooperation to match that relationship.

The Prime Minister said that transport infrastructure is identified by Vietnam as one of the strategic breakthroughs because Vietnam's logistics costs are still high (17-18%) compared to the world (only 11%); therefore, the need to improve Vietnam's transport infrastructure is very important and urgent, especially the five modes of transport such as aviation, maritime, waterway, road, and railway, in which the current railway system is mainly built by the French.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Philippe Tabarot, Minister in charge of Transport of the French Republic. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

The Prime Minister emphasized that the two countries need to promote stronger, more practical and more effective implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Currently, Vietnam is planning to focus on developing large seaports, the latest being Hon Khoai port in Ca Mau. Large ports built by the French in the past are all being upgraded.

Vietnam is a maritime country with a coastline of more than 3,200km, the East Sea accounts for 60% of the world's cargo traffic; Vietnam is restoring the railway connecting China and Europe; in particular, Vietnam is promoting the implementation of the North-South high-speed railway project; continuing to develop the aviation system including airports and flight crews; investing in developing the inland waterway system in the Mekong Delta...

In that spirit, the Prime Minister hopes that France and Vietnam will strengthen cooperation in the spirit of harmonious interests and shared risks; Vietnam values ​​decisiveness, time, intelligence and decisiveness; focus on removing procedural obstacles, focus on key points, complete each task, and go beyond one's own limits to make breakthroughs.

Vietnam's bottleneck is the institution, mainly administrative procedures. The two countries need to concretize the strategic vision of the two sides' senior leaders, creating specific material wealth, so that the people of the two countries can enjoy these achievements.

Leaders of several Vietnamese ministries and sectors attended the reception. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot thanked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for taking the time to receive the delegation and thanked Vietnamese ministries and sectors for their warm welcome; and said that he had just had a successful working session with the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction to discuss key cooperation issues.

The Minister stated that French President Emmanuel Macron highly appreciated the multifaceted cooperative relationship with Vietnam.

On this occasion, the Minister conveyed the greetings and regards of French President Emmanuel Macron to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; hoping that the two sides would further promote the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through sustainable development and innovation; especially through cooperation in the field of transportation.

He pointed out that France is also a country with strengths in high-speed railway construction, with many large enterprises that have made France famous in the world. In particular, France has just supported Morocco in building a railway line; it is ready to transfer technology and operational skills to Morocco in this field.

French delegates attending the reception. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

He wished to remove difficulties in the relationship between the two countries for more effective cooperation in the future. He expressed his great impression of the strong development of Vietnam, which he had previously only known about through books; and was impressed by the fact that Vietnam still preserves a great French cultural heritage.

Mr. Philippe Tabarot said that the upcoming visit to Vietnam by the French President plays a very important role in promoting the relationship between the two countries. The French government and French businesses are always ready to cooperate with Vietnam, exchange experiences and learn from each other, and work together to create quality products and better services, especially in the field of transportation.

Vietnam-France flights support the two countries to expand exchanges, targeting the young generation - the future generation of the two countries. The Minister affirmed that France is always ready to train high-quality human resources for Vietnam.

View of the reception. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

Thanking Minister Philippe Tabarot for his kind comments, through the Minister, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent greetings and congratulations from General Secretary To Lam and President Luong Cuong to French President Emmanuel Macron, expressing his hope to soon welcome the French President to pay an official visit to Vietnam.

Recalling his impressions of his official visit to France at the end of 2021 and the strategic vision of President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister said that cooperation between the two countries on cybersecurity is very necessary, including strengthening cooperation, connecting data, and creating a smart database between the two countries.

The Prime Minister stated that the relationship between the two countries is developing very well, and the need for cooperation is an inevitable and objective requirement. Therefore, he hoped that the Minister would convey to the French President that Vietnam is also eager to welcome the President and is making every effort to prepare the best for the visit.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the two countries have put the past behind them, limited differences, exploited commonalities, and looked towards future development; the two economies of Vietnam and France complement each other rather than compete with each other. The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam's principles of cooperation are sincere, respectful, affectionate, feasible, and effective.

Regarding transportation, the potential for bilateral cooperation is huge. The Prime Minister always supports businesses with long-term investment strategies in Vietnam, including French businesses. Among these corporations, Vietnam has close cooperation with Airbus Group, so it is hoped that Airbus will have a base in Vietnam, transferring aircraft maintenance and repair technology to Vietnamese partners.

The Prime Minister also expressed hope that French shipping lines would cooperate with Vietnam to increase the transport of import and export goods; asked the Minister to encourage French enterprises to invest in developing logistics infrastructure in Vietnam; stated that Vietnam has a strategy to exploit outer space, underground space, and sea space; including actively developing the flight fleet to expand international flight routes, and wishes to cooperate with France on smart port management because French enterprises have strengths in the fields of aviation, satellites, and maritime and Vietnam has a need.

Regarding the development of the expressway system, the Prime Minister stated that Vietnam is currently implementing it independently but welcomes French enterprises to invest in this field; hopes that France will help Vietnam in the field of education and training, increase scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in France; enhance training of high-quality human resources for Vietnam in the fields of nuclear power, railways; technology transfer; smart management; and preferential loans. The Prime Minister affirmed that there is still a lot of room for cooperation between the two sides, so Vietnam always warmly welcomes French enterprises and investors to do successful business in Vietnam.