Bringing the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into reality and effectiveness

On the morning of October 7, 2024, local time (afternoon of October 7, Hanoi time), at the Elysee Palace in Paris, General Secretary and President To Lam attended the solemn welcoming ceremony hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, the upcoming visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron is an event of special significance for bilateral relations, especially after the two countries upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The French President’s choice of Vietnam as the first destination of his regional tour clearly demonstrates the strategic priority and profound importance that France attaches to its bilateral relationship with Vietnam. Vietnam’s position as the first and only ASEAN partner to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with France further reinforces this. At the same time, this is also an important step in implementing France’s Indo- Pacific strategy, thereby affirming Vietnam’s key role in France’s foreign policy in the region.

France is the first EU country to have the highest level of relations with Vietnam.

Vietnam and France established diplomatic relations on April 12, 1973; before that, France had opened a representative office in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Agreement as a Delegation.

Since then, the relationship between Vietnam and France has developed positively. The visit to Vietnam by French President Francois Mitterand in March 1993 marked an important turning point in the relationship with Vietnam, especially in the strategies and policies that France implemented in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Minister and Chairman of the State Planning Commission Do Quoc Sam and French Finance Minister Edmond Alphandéry signed the 1993 Financial Protocol between the two governments, witnessed by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (Paris, November 8, 1993). (Photo: Kim Hung/VNA)

Forty years after the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries signed a Joint Statement on the Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to France (September 2013). This milestone has created momentum for the bilateral relationship to become increasingly deeper, more substantial and more effective.

The good political relationship between the two countries is marked by high-level visits, notably the official visit to the French Republic by President Tran Duc Luong (2002), Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (2013), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (March 2018); National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (April 2019); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (November 2021); General Secretary and President To Lam's official visit to France (October 2024).

During his official visit to the French Republic, on the morning of November 4, 2021, at the Élysée Palace, Paris, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Visits to Vietnam by French leaders include: French President François Hollande (2016); French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe (November 2018); President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher (December 2022); French Minister of Foreign Trade Olivier Becht (March 2023); French Minister of the Army Sébastien Lecornu attending the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 2024)...

In October 2024, General Secretary and President To Lam paid an official visit to France and the two countries issued a Joint Statement on upgrading Vietnam-France relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; France became the first EU country to have the highest level of relations with Vietnam.

In addition, senior leaders of the two countries also regularly send letters and hold phone calls, such as: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone call with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (November 28, 2022), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had a high-level phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron (October 20, 2023)...

At noon on October 7, 2024, local time (evening on October 7, Hanoi time), at the Elysee Palace in Paris, General Secretary and President To Lam and French President Emmanuel Macron held a joint press conference. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

In 2023, the two countries will organize many meaningful activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (April 12, 1973 - April 12, 2023) and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership (2013-2023). These include: The 12th Conference on Cooperation between Vietnamese and French Localities held in Hanoi; 3D exhibition on Quoc Tu Giam, the event "Walking Around France" with food stalls, exchanges and experiences; exhibition about France; premiere of the musical " The Little Prince" ; organizing fashion contests, seminars at Vietnamese universities to emphasize the importance of the relationship between the two countries, light shows in Hue, etc.

The two countries also maintain many regular exchange mechanisms on politics, economics, and defense at all levels, notably: the Defense Security Strategy Dialogue between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Vietnam and France, chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the annual High-Level Economic Dialogue co-chaired by the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam and the Minister of Foreign Trade of France; and the Defense Strategy Dialogue at the Deputy Minister level between the two Ministries of Defense.

The two countries maintain many diverse bilateral cooperation mechanisms; closely coordinate and support each other at international forums and organizations.

Close cooperation in many fields

France is Vietnam's fifth largest European trading partner (after the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and Italy), with trade turnover in 2024 reaching 5.42 billion USD, an increase of 12.9% compared to 2023 (4.81 billion USD).

France ranks 16th out of 147 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 700 valid investment projects, total registered investment capital reaching 3.95 billion USD; Vietnam has 20 investment projects in France with total registered capital reaching 38.93 million USD.

Gemalink International Port (Phu My town, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) is the only deep-water port in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area, with Gemadept Joint Stock Company (Vietnam) contributing 75% and CMA-CGM Group (France) contributing 25% of the investment capital. (Photo: VNA)

France is the leading European bilateral ODA donor to Vietnam and Vietnam ranks second among countries receiving French ODA (from 1993-2022, providing and lending 16.7 billion EUR in preferential loans; an average of 100 million EUR/year, focusing on the fields of infrastructure, technology transfer, agriculture, green industry and finance...).

Regarding security and defense cooperation, France was the first Western country to have a defense attaché in Vietnam (1991). Since 1997, the two sides have held annual and rotating defense cooperation and strategic dialogues.

In 2018, the two countries signed an agreement amending Vietnam-France cooperation in the field of defense and a joint vision statement on defense cooperation for the 2018-2028 period.

General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, held talks with French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu during his official visit to Vietnam (May 5, 2024). (Photo: Trong Duc/VNA)

Scientific and technological cooperation is carried out through projects funded by the French Priority Solidarity Fund (FSP). The two countries signed an Intergovernmental Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (March 2007); and an Agreement on Cooperation on the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes (November 2009).

Regarding agricultural cooperation, Vietnam and France signed an Agreement on agricultural cooperation between the two Ministries of Agriculture (December 2023); a Framework Agreement on scientific and technical cooperation in agriculture and rural development with the Center for International Cooperation for Development (CIRAD) 2024-2028 (September 2023).

Regarding education and training cooperation, the two sides are implementing a number of key projects such as: High-quality engineer training program in Vietnam (PFIEV), Vietnam-France Management Training Center (CFVG), University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH); signing an Intergovernmental Agreement on educational cooperation (10/2024).

Local cooperation has been a unique feature of Vietnam-France relations since the 1990s. To date, the two countries have successfully coordinated to organize 12 rotating meetings in France and Vietnam (the most recent in Hanoi in April 2023).

Currently, the Vietnamese community in France has about 350,000 people, including many groups, most of whom have acquired French citizenship, are well integrated into society, and have a long-standing tradition and are attached to the country.

Open up opportunities for real and effective cooperation

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, the upcoming visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron demonstrates the importance and strong commitment of French senior leaders to consolidating and developing relations with Vietnam, bringing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into reality and effectiveness. This is a great opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to agree on new steps to concretize the frameworks set out in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Many specific fields and projects are being discussed in depth by the two sides to promote economic-trade-investment priorities, enhance defense-security cooperation, innovation, science and technology, education and training, and health. The signing of new cooperation agreements within the framework of the visit will create an important driving force and legal basis for cooperation activities between the two countries in the coming years.

President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the French Institute in Vietnam in Hanoi (December 8, 2022). (Photo: Pham Kien/VNA)

The visit is also an opportunity to strengthen political trust at the highest level between the two sides, sending a strong message about the determination of Vietnam and France in cooperating for peace, stability and development in the region and the world. The visit is also expected to contribute to promoting people-to-people exchanges, enhancing cultural exchanges and traditional friendship between the two countries.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, the upcoming visit of the French President to Vietnam will certainly bring many important highlights. Most notably, the two sides will jointly adopt documents to concretize the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially expanding cooperation into new areas such as innovation, energy and defense. These documents not only concretize high-level commitments but also shape a roadmap for deep and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in the coming period.

On the basis of the adopted documents and action plans, this visit will open up opportunities for more substantive and effective cooperation in the priority areas we have identified, including defense, security, energy and transport.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang believes that the visit will create a strong political momentum, continuously consolidate strategic trust, enhance deep understanding and deepen the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. This will certainly be an important milestone, creating a solid foundation for the sustainable and stronger development of the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the future./.

The urban railway project No. 3 (Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station) is funded by ODA loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Government (DGT), and was designed by the French company Systra. (Photo: Thanh Dat/VNA)

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dua-quan-he-doi-tac-chien-luoc-toan-dien-viet-phap-di-vao-thuc-chat-hieu-qua-post1039976.vnp