Establishing cooperative and friendly relations between two port cities of Vietnam and France

Photo caption — Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City Tran Nam Hung and Mayor of Le Havre City Édouard Philippe exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding establishing cooperation and friendship relations between the two port cities. Photo: VNA

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Da Nang City Nguyen Duc Dung, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang and Ms. Caroline Leclercq, Deputy Mayor of Le Havre City.

The Memorandum of Understanding opens a new chapter in the cooperation between Da Nang and Le Havre. The two port cities have committed to cooperate in the fields of economics , logistics, urban and port planning, innovation, higher education and tourism through the promotion of cultural, artistic and historical heritage.

Accordingly, Le Havre, which is recognized as a “Smart Port City”, will share its experience and expertise with Da Nang, which is developing a modern deep-water port and aims to become the region’s leading maritime and seaport center.

In the field of innovation, businesses and organizations in Le Havre such as Soget, Towt, Logivet France and Seafrigo… are committed to promoting cooperation, combining knowledge, technology and innovation, and supporting the ecological transition and sustainable development of both localities.

In particular, in terms of higher education , Da Nang and Le Havre wish to further expand their current active cooperation with exchanges in many other fields. Over the past two years, universities in the two cities have closely coordinated in student exchange programs and research in the maritime and port fields. Each year, about 20 Vietnamese students apply to study at Le Havre University. EM Normandie - one of France's famous universities for business administration - also maintains a very close cooperative relationship with Vietnam, the result of many years of exchange and academic cooperation. EM Normandie currently has a campus in Ho Chi Minh City, where senior managers of 25 large Vietnamese corporations are trained. In addition, Sciences Po - specializing in international studies - also actively contributes to strengthening relations between the two countries through university exchange programs and joint research.

In the context that Vietnam and France have upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since the end of 2024, the establishment of local-level cooperation between Da Nang and Le Havre is of special importance, promising to bring about many substantive, effective and sustainable cooperation activities.

Immediately after the signing ceremony, the delegation of Da Nang city led by Chairman of the City People's Council Nguyen Duc Dung and Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Nam Hung had a working session with businesses, investors in the maritime industry, logistics and representatives of universities in Le Havre. The leaders of Da Nang city wish to continue connecting with French partners to promote cooperation in the fields of industry, trade, innovation, startups and financial center development.

Previously, within the framework of the working trip to France, the delegation visited the Vietnamese Embassy in the French Republic, asking Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang to support promoting cooperation between the two localities and connecting French partners interested in seeking investment opportunities in Da Nang.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/thiet-lap-quan-he-hop-tac-va-huu-nghi-giua-hai-thanh-pho-cang-cua-viet-nam-va-phap-20251007161318371.htm