Half a century of Vietnam-France cooperation (part 2): There is still much room for development

2023 marks many important events between the two countries to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership in 2023. These are important foundations for further development of the strategic partnership between the two countries. [caption id="attachment_612342" align="aligncenter" width="1068"] Scene of the phone call between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Party Central Office. Photo: Tri Dung – VNA[/caption]

An eventful year

Looking back at a vibrant year in Vietnam-France relations, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang said: "In 2023, Vietnam and France have implemented a rich program of activities, responding to major holidays in bilateral relations, reflecting the maturity and profound development of the relationship between the two countries."

According to Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang, in January 2023, the two sides started with a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement in cities that had previously marked the mark of Vietnamese negotiating delegations. This series of activities contributed to affirming the deep connection and traditional sympathy between the people of the two countries.

In the last months of the year, the phone call between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and French President Emmanuel Macron (October 20) and the meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Macron on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (December 2) once again affirmed the close high-level exchanges and common awareness, the sharing of vision between the two countries on the direction to strengthen bilateral relations.

In addition, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said that in 2023, the two countries had many typical and unique exchange and communication activities spanning many fields, through many channels of contact. The two sides organized ceremonies to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in Hanoi as well as in Paris, along with events such as Vietnam Week/Day in France and French Cultural Day in Vietnam.

On the other hand, the two countries have exchanged ministerial visits in many key areas of cooperation, including the visit to France by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (June), Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung (November), and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (December), while the first visit to Vietnam by Minister in charge of Foreign Trade Olivier Becht (late February) and Minister of Public Service Transformation Stanislas Guérini (late November) on the Vietnamese side.

In addition, there were more than 50 delegations from all levels of ministries, branches, localities, businesses and Vietnamese partners visiting and working in France.

2023 also marks the vibrant relaunch of bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the 12th Vietnam - France Local Cooperation Conference in Hanoi (April), Political Consultation between the two regional departments of the two foreign ministries in Hanoi (December), the 3rd Vietnam - France Defense Cooperation and Strategy Dialogue in Paris (December)...

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang affirmed: "Those vibrant and diverse activities reflect the great response of the two sides' partners to Vietnam-France cooperation and give us strong confidence in the good prospects of Vietnam-France relations in the future."

There is still much room for development.

According to Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang, after 50 years of establishment, Vietnam-France relations have had an important accumulation in both quantity and quality. However, the potential to further deepen cooperation is still very large, 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.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang speaks at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement. Photo: Thu Ha - VNA

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said that in recent meetings, the two countries' senior leaders affirmed the contents, potential for cooperation and common perceptions between the two countries on a new vision for Vietnam-France relations through an enhanced strategic partnership and on the basis of the pillars of cooperation that have been identified and continue to be renewed. Many specific important highlights have been shaped in enhancing political trust and people-to-people exchange; promoting and creating changes in cooperation in the fields of defense - security, economy, trade, investment, aviation, energy conversion, science - technology, culture, engineering, etc.

“We are facing many opportunities to bring Vietnam-France cooperation to new heights in the coming years and decades,” Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized.

To bring the relationship between the two countries to a new level, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said: “The high-level exchanges between the two countries in recent times have clearly demonstrated the important guiding role of senior leaders in the Vietnam - France relationship. The two countries will continue to maintain and strengthen these mechanisms to urge coordination and implementation in all areas of trade, investment, science - technology, education and training, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, culture and people-to-people exchange. On the other hand, the partners of both sides need to make efforts and take prompt measures to take specific steps to meet the new requirements of both Vietnam and France, which are increasingly urgent and diverse.”

In terms of economy, according to experts, although this is a bright spot in Vietnam-France cooperation, the potential for cooperation between the two countries is still very large. Therefore, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said that both sides need to continue to make efforts so that Vietnam's strong products such as textiles, footwear, agricultural and aquatic products... can take advantage of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA) in the French market.

In addition, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized that the two sides need to coordinate to attract French enterprises to invest in areas where France has strengths and is in line with Vietnam's foreign investment cooperation orientation as well as promote links between the two sides' partners in high technology, industry, as well as other strategic and key sectors. French enterprises need to be encouraged to move towards more systematic strategies, devoting more resources to promote their presence in the Vietnamese market and taking advantage of the Vietnamese market to reach out to the region.

For his part, French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery said: “Economy is one of the important areas of cooperation in the France-Vietnam bilateral relationship, demonstrated through trade exchanges between the two sides, investments as well as French enterprises building factories and operating in Vietnam, in accordance with Vietnamese law.”

“I strongly believe that in the coming time, this cooperative relationship will be strongly enhanced after the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam officially takes effect from 2020,” Ambassador Nicolas Warnery affirmed./.

Mai Huong