(VOVworld) – French President Francois Hollande has begun an official visit to Vietnam today.

French President Francois Hollande (Photo: VOVworld)

The 2-day visit will serve to solidify the strategic partnership that Vietnam and France signed in 2013, and to clarify the aims of cooperation in all fields including politics and diplomacy, security and defense, trade and investment, science and technology, and education and training. This is the first visit to Vietnam by a French President since Jacques Chirac’s visit in 2004. President Hollande will hold talks with President Tran Dai Quang and meet with the leaders of the Vietnamese Party, Government, and National Assembly.

There will be 20 documents signed during President Hollande’s visit. France is now Vietnam’s 5^th largest trade partner in the European Union (EU) with two-way trade turnover reaching 4.3 billion USD last year. Regarding investment, France is the 3^rd largest European investor and the 16^th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of more than 3.4 billion USD.