Party General Secretary and State President To Lam (L) arrives at Orly Airport in Paris on the evening of October 3 (local time) (Photo: VNA)  

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s official visit to France from October 6-7 aims to demonstrate the high evaluation of the Vietnamese Party and State for the Vietnam-France strategic partnership and to further deepen the bilateral relationship.

Since Vietnam and France set up their diplomatic relations on April 12, 1973, the two sides have seen progress in their partnership. French President Francois Mitterand’s visit to Vietnam in March 1993 marked an important milestone in the Vietnam-France relations, especially in the strategies and policies that France implemented in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2013, the two sides issued a joint statement on upgrading bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.

Bilateral sound political relations have been reinforced through many high-level visits. Leaders of the two sides have also kept regular contacts.

Last year, Vietnam and France celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and 10-year strategic partnership with various activities.

Vietnam and France have maintained many regular exchange mechanisms on politics, economics, and defence at all levels.

In the current world context, Vietnam and France have many favourable conditions to further strengthen their relationship. France is a key power in Europe with global role and important interests and influence in Asia, while Vietnam is a fast-growing and dynamic economy playing an important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia. The two countries also share many similar views and interests in international issues. Therefore, strengthening bilateral cooperation relationship has become an objective and necessary requirement for the benefit of both countries.

The two sides have coordinated with and supported each other at international organisations such as the United Nations (UN), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

Economic and trade is an important cooperation pillar in the relationship between the two countries. France is currently the fourth largest trading partner, the second biggest investor and the leading ODA provider of Vietnam among EU members. Two-way trade increased 42% over the past 10 years to 5.33 billion USD in 2022, 4.8 billion USD in 2023, and 2.96 billion USD in the first seven months of 2024.

The two countries are currently utilising the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which has facilitated Vietnamese goods’ position in the European market and opened the door for Vietnamese goods to enter the French market.

Regarding investment, as of August, France had invested in 692 projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 3.93 billion USD, ranking 16th out of 149 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, mainly on the areas of information and communication, processing and manufacturing industry, production and distribution of electricity, gas, water and air conditioning.

Meanwhile, France has provided Vietnam with 3 billion EUR (3.3 billion USD) so far.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang held that Vietnam and France can expand cooperation in energy, aerospace, green hydrogen technology development, semiconductor applications, rare mineral use, and undersea cables. Regarding green development goals, the two countries can promote cooperation in the fields of ecological agriculture, circular agriculture, green tourism, climate change response, and carbon markets, he added.

At the same time, strong progress has also been recorded in bilateral education-training, culture, and locality-to-locality cooperation.

French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet said that France hopes to see more Vietnamese students choosing to study in France, while it is also pleased to see more French students participating in exchange programmes, spending one or two semesters at Vietnamese universities partnered with French institutions

Noting that the Vietnamese Government has identified the development of cultural and creative industries among key objectives for driving growth, he affirmed that France, with its expertise in this field, is capable of assisting Vietnam in relevant projects.

Locality-to-locality cooperation is also a unique feature in the Vietnam-France relationship. To date, France is the only country where Vietnam has elevated the mechanism of meetings among localities to the conference level, which is held alternately in the two countries' different localities every 2-3 years and is considered a major event and activity in the bilateral relationship.

Ambassador Brochet asserted that the upcoming official visit to France by Vietnam’s top leader will provide an opportunity for both nations to continue their shared efforts in strengthening the bilateral partnership, with new areas of cooperation in sectors of mutual interest, as well as their international roles in promoting global security.

He said that during the visit, the two countries are expected to sign an intergovernmental agreement on education. This document is anticipated to facilitate closer coordination between France and Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training on boosting French language teaching in Vietnamese schools, in a bid to increase both the quality and number of French language speakers in Vietnam.

Ambassador Thang said that the top Vietnamese leader’s visit is an important milestone, creating a new framework and momentum to bring the Vietnam-France strategic partnership to a new height for the benefit of both peoples as well as for peace, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world./.