French Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq delivers speech at the seminar. (Photo: Bich Ha/Vietnam+).

(VOV) – A seminar on Southeast Asia’s potential markets took place in Paris on Thursday. Jointly held by the French Senate and the French Trade Commission-UBIFRANCE, the event drew the participation of French officials, trade representatives, and representatives of companies operating in Southeast Asia. Participants agreed that Southeast Asia has a strong investment and trading potential. Marc Cagnard, Director of UBIFrance in Vietnam, highlighted the potential of the Vietnamese market and called on small and medium-sized enterprises to increase their presence there. He said ‘We have organized many events to promote business opportunities in this market and plan to have 20 activities in Vietnam next year. We think Vietnam has lots of opportunities for development and French enterprises can invest in the areas of technology and high-end products.’

French Foreign Trade Minister, Nicole Bricq, said that he plans to visit Vietnam next year to boost bilateral trade adding ‘Although I haven’t set a time for the visit, I will visit Vietnam next year. I will surely accompany a number of enterprises including SMEs. The number of enterprises is not important but they will be carefully selected to be able to succeed in the Vietnamese market.’

Bricq said sustainable development, renewable energy, and high-technology areas can boost relations between France and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam.

Thuy Van, VOV correspondent in France