(VOVWORLD) - French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has begun a three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. This year, the two countries celebrate the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and five years of their strategic partnership.
 French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (Photo: AFP) |
Vietnam and France set up diplomatic ties in 1973 and a strategic partnership 40 years later. France is the world’s fifth largest economy and third largest exporter of service.
Strengthened strategic partnership
The two countries have exchanged high-ranking delegations and engaged in cooperative mechanisms like a security-defense strategic dialogue and an annual high-level economic dialogue. France is Vietnam’s fifth largest European partner after Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Italy. Last year, their two-way trade reached 4.6 billion USD, up 11.6 percent from 2016. Their trade in the first half of this year totaled 2.3 billion USD. Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Thiep said: “Vietnam-France relations have progressed remarkably, especially after a visit to France by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in March. Cooperation has focused on areas important to Vietnam’s development. Following the visit, the two countries agreed that France will help Vietnam build an e-government, a pillar of their strategic partnership. It is expected related agreements will be signed during the French Prime Minister’s visit to Vietnam.”
France was the third largest European investor in Vietnam last year, after the Netherlands and the UK and ranked 16th of the 114 countries and territories invested in Vietnam with more than 520 valid projects worth 2.8 billion USD. France’s direct investment is focused on information and communications, processing and manufacturing industries, and hydro-thermal power.
Vietnam has invested in nine projects in France with a total capital of more than 3 million USD. With France’s strong support, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement due to be signed at the end of this year will expand investment-trade ties between the two countries. Ambassador Thiep said: “France has a positive viewpoint of signing an FTA between Vietnam and the EU. The deal covers 49 countries and 98% of the goods flow between the two sides. The support of France, a European powerhouse, will have a huge impact.”
The Vietnam-France relationship is characterized by cooperation between localities. 38 French localities are partnering with 18 Vietnamese provinces and cities in healthcare, education, water and sanitation, heritage preservation, and rural development. As members of the International Organization of Francophonie, the two countries have worked together in teaching of French and parliamentary activities. 300 thousand Vietnamese are currently living in France.
Stronger strategic partnership
2018 has created momentum for Vietnam-France ties through the visit to France by the Vietnamese Party leader in March and the current visit to Vietnam by the French Prime Minister, reflecting Vietnam’s importance to French interests in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific.