At the talks (Photo: VNA)  

Party General Secretary and President To Lam and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the upgrade of relations between the two countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during their talks in Paris on October 7 (local time), making France the first country in the European Union (EU) to establish this partnership with Vietnam.

Both sides also aligned on major directions and measures to ensure this partnership deepens and becomes more practical, fitting the new context of Vietnam-France cooperation.

Lam congratulated France and President Macron on successfully hosting the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, and especially 19th Francophonie Summit in October.

Once again congratulating Lam on his recent election, Macron stressed this marks the first official visit by a Vietnamese head of state to France in 22 years.

He expressed his gratitude for Vietnam's attendance at the Francophonie Summit and other key events and offered condolences for the losses Vietnam suffered due to recent Typhoon Yagi, pledging France's support in recovery efforts.

Both sides agreed to enhance the exchange of all-level delegations, particularly those at the high level across Party, State, Government, and National Assembly channels.

Describing national defence-security cooperation as a critical pillar of their partnership, they vowed to effectively implement existing cooperation agreements, soon hold the Vietnam-France Defence Strategy and Cooperation Dialogue, assist in the training of officers, share experiences in crime prevention and control, and support each other at global and regional security forums.

Lam praised the recent visit by French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu to Vietnam during the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, noting that it demonstrates a spirit of respect for history and a commitment to a shared future.

On economic and trade matters, both leaders lauded the ongoing cooperation between their ministries, agencies, and localities. They pledged to continue promoting concessional loans and Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Vietnam and encouraging businesses to fully realise the benefits of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The Vietnamese leader urged France to expedite the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and sought France's support in advocating for the European Commission to lift the "yellow card" warning against Vietnamese seafood exports.

President Macron confirmed his commitment to recommending EVIPA ratification to the French Parliament promptly. Macron also praised Vietnam's commitment to the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and green transition initiatives.

Both leaders agreed to strengthen joint work in areas of potential synergy and French expertise, including infrastructure, aerospace, sci-tech, renewable, and hydrogen energy.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in new areas such as aerospace, artificial intelligence, and airport transport infrastructure. They also consented to promote the training of high-quality human resources and continue to create opportunities for Vietnamese students to study in France with more scholarships. Additionally, both sides committed to expanding collaboration in the fields of ecological and circular agriculture, and trilateral cooperation between Vietnam, France, and global south countries to ensure global food security.

President Macron welcomed Vietnam's efforts in responding to climate change. Lam highly appreciated France's pioneering and leading role in the fight against climate change and expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to cooperate in developing ecosystem-based models on the basis of ensuring harmony of interests.

The French leader highly valued the role of the Vietnamese community in France as an important bridge between the two countries, and affirmed that he will continue to create favourable conditions for them to live and work in France.

The two sides spoke highly of ASEAN's central role in the region and pledged to continue promoting France-ASEAN and EU-ASEAN relations. They also committed to supporting each other at multilateral forums and international organisations such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, Francophonie, and the United Nations.

President Macron emphasised that France highly valued Vietnam's stance on ending violence, easing tensions, and calling on all parties to resolve conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other regions by peaceful means and in accordance with international law.

Regarding the East Sea issue, both sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation, and resolving disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

On this occasion, Lam invited Macron to visit Vietnam soon and the French leader accepted the invitation with pleasure. Many documents and cooperation agreements in the fields of diplomacy, culture, education, transportation, and internal affairs were signed by ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries during the official visit of Vietnam’s top leader to France./.