At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, General Secretary and President To Lam and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation paid an official visit to France from October 3-7. The State visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to France is an opportunity for the two countries to further affirm their determination to strengthen their strategic partnership.
Vietnam - France relations are increasingly deep and substantial
Vietnam - France relations, more than 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations at the Ambassadorial level in 1973 and especially more than 10 years after the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2013, have been developing well.
The good political relationship between the two countries is marked by high-level visits, notably the official visits to the French Republic by President Tran Duc Luong (in 2002), Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (in 2013), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (in 2018); National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (in 2019); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (in 2021)... and visits to Vietnam by French President François Hollande (in 2016); French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe (in 2018); President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher (in 2022); French Minister of Foreign Trade Olivier Becht (in 2023). Most recently, the visit and attendance at the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory Ceremony (May 2024) by French Minister of the Army Sébastien Lecornu marked a new milestone in bilateral relations as we together overcome the past and look towards the future.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, the two countries have many favorable conditions to strengthen relations. France is a country with high political position and prestige in the world, has a developed economy, plays a leading role in Europe and the EU and is actively promoting its global role, is a founding and key member of many important regional and international organizations, and has important interests and influence in Asia.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is a fast-growing economy, dynamic in foreign affairs and integration, and plays an important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The two countries respect and appreciate each other's role as partners in the relationship between the two continents, two regions, and between ASEAN and the EU, sharing many common concerns in promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and common values such as multilateralism, respect for international law, and support for the United Nations Charter.
2023 marks a strong bilateral relationship as the two countries organize many meaningful activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (April 12, 1973 - April 12, 2023) and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership (2013-2023). Over the past year, more than 50 delegations from Vietnam at all levels, from the central to local levels, have visited and worked in France.
The two countries also maintain many regular exchange mechanisms on politics, economics, and defense at all levels, notably: the Defense Security Strategy Dialogue between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Vietnam and France, chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the annual high-level economic dialogue co-chaired by the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam and the Minister of Foreign Trade of France; and the Defense Strategy Dialogue at the Deputy Minister level between the two Ministries of Defense.
Economic and trade cooperation is a bright spot in Vietnam - France relations
Economically, France is currently Vietnam's fifth largest European trading partner (after Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Italy), the second largest investor and the leading ODA provider to Vietnam in the European Union (EU).
France currently has more than 350 leading enterprises and corporations operating in Vietnam. France's strengths in telecommunications, renewable energy, environment, medicine, manufacturing industry, food industry, infrastructure, logistics services, and high-quality agriculture are areas that are consistent with Vietnam's development orientation and attraction of foreign investment and economic cooperation. France also has a roadmap to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
France has 692 investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 3.93 billion USD, ranking 16th out of 149 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. On the Vietnamese side, through the support of representatives of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in France, many local delegations have been promoting many visits and seeking cooperation opportunities with the French side. Typical examples of decentralized cooperation between Vietnam and France include Lao Cai province and the Nouvelle Aquitaine region. The two sides recently celebrated 20 years of cooperation between the two localities in June 2024.
Bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and France reached 4.8 billion USD, of which Vietnam's export turnover to France reached nearly 3.2 billion USD. As of July 2024, bilateral exports reached 2.96 billion USD. It is predicted that from now until the end of the year, bilateral trade turnover is likely to reach a new record. France mainly exports to Vietnam aviation equipment, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, agricultural and food products, chemicals and cosmetics... On the other hand, Vietnam is gradually asserting itself as an important partner of France when exporting a variety of products such as footwear, textiles, ceramic products, rattan and bamboo products, seafood, machinery and equipment, electronic components...
With its dynamism, the Vietnam Trade Office in France has continuously implemented programs to promote Vietnamese culture, cuisine and goods to a large number of consumers in France in recent years. Vietnamese goods weeks in famous supermarket chains in France such as Carrefour, Système U, E. Leclerc have been widely responded to and welcomed by French consumers. Through these events, Vietnamese cuisine has become increasingly famous to the French people in particular and European friends in general. Dishes such as "Banh Mi", "Pho" or "Banh Bo Bun" have now become a welcomed culinary trend in France. Mr. Didier Boulogne, Deputy General Director in charge of export activities of Business France, affirmed that Vietnam and France have many opportunities for cooperation.
According to Mr. Didier, Vietnam is a dynamic country and one of the most open countries in Southeast Asia in terms of export and trade exchange. With free trade agreements signed with many countries and regions in the world, including the European Union, Vietnam has the factors to develop cooperation.
Science, education and culture, the pillars of Vietnam - France relations
In terms of science, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Vietnam and France has been implemented since 1977 through the Agreement on Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation signed in the same year. This is a dialogue mechanism for the two sides to discuss priority activities and jointly developed programs in the fields of culture, science and technology.
Several decades later, the Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation between the two Governments was signed in 2007 to ensure the importance and interests of both sides in cooperation activities and projects on research, technology transfer and training in many fields, and to create a favorable environment for experts, agencies and organizations of Science and Technology of the two countries to further strengthen cooperation in information exchange, development and implementation of programs and projects of mutual interest.
To implement this Agreement, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France signed an Agreement on the Scientific Exchange Support Program "Hoa Sen" with the aim of developing excellent scientific and technological cooperation activities between research organizations of the two countries as well as encouraging young researchers to participate. Main areas of cooperation: Biotechnology, medicine, new materials, information and communication technology, mathematics, applied physics and chemistry, nanotechnology, natural compounds, environment, agriculture...
Looking back after 17 years of implementing the Lotus Program, the two sides have had scientific exchanges in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology - pharmacy, new materials... Vietnam has had many cadres trained in short-term, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and have published internationally and domestically. Vietnamese scientists have the opportunity to work in a modern environment, use advanced research equipment and access many new research results. In addition, cooperation between Vietnam and France in other fields has also been actively promoted by both sides such as cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, intellectual property, space technology...
Regarding education and training, with many long-standing historical ties, France has always focused on teaching and developing the French language. Since the Francophone Summit held in Hanoi in 1997, France has supported Vietnam in opening many French-Vietnamese bilingual classes, supporting Vietnamese officials and teachers to study in France, and at the same time strengthening cooperation with educational institutions in Vietnam such as universities to encourage the training of human resources at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in many fields, such as economic management, banking, finance, law, new technology, etc. The two sides have implemented a number of key projects in the field of training, such as: High-quality engineer training program in Vietnam, the project to establish two French University Centers at the National University of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Francophone Institute of Information Technology (IFI).
Regarding cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange, both Vietnam and France prioritize organizing bilateral promotional activities, considering this a highlight of the relationship. The Vietnamese Embassy in France, together with the UNESCO delegation and the Vietnamese Cultural Center in France, continuously conduct exchange activities, promoting to French friends folk songs such as Quan Ho singing, Chau Van singing or famous folk art forms such as Dong Ho paintings and lacquer paintings. In recent times, the Vietnamese Embassy in France has presided over the organization of many cultural and artistic activities such as: The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the 50th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory and the Geneva Agreement, Vietnam Day in France, Vietnam Cultural Day, Community Tet, activities honoring President Ho Chi Minh, following in Uncle Ho's footsteps to help French and international friends better understand the country and people of Vietnam.
France has also actively introduced to the Vietnamese people many famous cultural forms of the country. Through the activities of the French Embassy in Vietnam, in coordination with Business France and the French Institute in Vietnam, many weeks of French films have been screened, and many French culinary festivals have become meeting places for Vietnamese people. Activities in the series of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam - France Strategic Partnership in 2023 such as the 12th Conference on Cooperation between Vietnamese and French localities held in Hanoi; 3D exhibition on Quoc Tu Giam, the event "Walking around France" with food stalls, exchanges and experiences; exhibitions about France; premiere of the musical "The Little Prince"; light show in Hue... have received positive responses from the Vietnamese people.
Elevating the Vietnam - France Strategic Partnership
Vietnam and France are facing many opportunities to enhance their cooperation in both quantity and quality, especially when both countries are facing great demands for national development as well as contributing to the common efforts of the international community for peace and cooperation.
The political determination of the leaders of the two countries, the support of all walks of life, and the active participation of partners in all fields will create new momentum to upgrade the cooperative relationship between the two sides. That relationship will help both countries continue to build their strength and position in a world that is experiencing many changes and is in great need of enhanced cooperation to jointly respond to common challenges of development, security, and stability.
During the official visit to France by General Secretary and President To Lam, the two countries will jointly identify major orientations, create frameworks and open a new chapter for the relationship between Vietnam and France, focusing on improving the effectiveness and upgrading bilateral cooperation mechanisms, deepening political, defense, security, economic - trade and investment cooperation, with science and technology, innovation and high-tech cooperation, and technology transfer being areas that will receive special attention. Cooperation in areas where France has strengths and Vietnam has needs such as aerospace, energy transition, climate change response, green economic development, ecological agriculture, circular agriculture, green hydrogen production technology, green tourism, marine economy, and sustainable fisheries development will be promoted more strongly in the coming time.
This is the first visit to France as General Secretary and President and the first visit to France by a head of state in 22 years. The visit aims to deepen the Vietnam-France strategic partnership, aiming to upgrade the bilateral relationship in the coming time.
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