Strengthening substantive cooperation in many fields between Vietnam and the French Republic

On November 6, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the French Treasury General Directorate held the annual High-Level Dialogue Forum on the Vietnam-France Economy. Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong and Ms. Magali Cesana, Director of the Department for Bilateral Affairs, Internationalization of French Enterprises and Foreign Attraction, French Treasury General Directorate co-chaired the forum.

Strengthening substantive cooperation in many aspects between Vietnam and the French Republic.

Discussing Vietnam's macroeconomic situation in recent times, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong informed about the outstanding socio-economic situation that Vietnam has achieved in the context of the complicated and unpredictable world situation, with many issues beyond forecast.

Notably, Vietnam is at a pivotal time, reporting to the competent authorities to issue important policies and orientations for the new development period 2026-2030, in which public investment is expected to be the main driving force to promote growth, contributing to realizing the target of continuous double-digit growth in the next 5 years, including investment in strategic infrastructure projects - from energy, transportation to digital transformation, green transformation, and sustainable urban development.

Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong speaks at the Forum.

Co-chairing the French side, Ms. Magali Cesana, Director of the Department for Bilateral Affairs, Internationalization of French Enterprises and Foreign Attraction, General Directorate of the French Treasury, congratulated Vietnam on its outstanding achievements in recent times. The French side also pledged to accompany Vietnam in the coming time, contributing to connecting the two economies.

Ms. Magali Cesana, Director of Bilateral Affairs, Internationalization of French Enterprises and Foreign Attraction, General Directorate of the French Treasury at the Forum.

Opportunities for strategic cooperation and exchange

Affirming that France is an important partner in Vietnam's foreign policy, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong commented that the cooperation in various fields between the two countries in recent times has achieved good and substantive results. The two sides have identified the contents of cooperation in the coming time, specifically:

Regarding trade and investment cooperation: Continue to implement the EVFTA Free Trade Agreement more effectively. Promote French investment in Vietnam in areas of French strength such as sustainable development, renewable energy, high technology, transport, infrastructure and agriculture . At the same time, Vietnam requests France to soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Regarding development cooperation: The need to mobilize capital for development investment in Vietnam in the coming time is very large. To ensure this capital mobilization need, the Vietnamese Government has been making efforts to perfect the legal framework for mobilizing, managing and using ODA capital and preferential loans from foreign donors, ensuring a transparent and effective mechanism. The Vietnamese Government hopes to have the companionship of countries, especially countries with high technology and a tradition of close development cooperation with Vietnam such as France.

Representative of the French development agency AFD spoke.

Sectoral economic cooperation: The two sides agreed to closely coordinate to implement the signed cooperation agreements, ensuring progress and efficiency. At the same time, relevant agencies of the two sides will research and seek cooperation opportunities in the fields of energy, finance and banking.

Speaking at the Dialogue, Ms. Magali Cesana agreed with Vietnam's cooperation proposals and said she will continue to support and share experiences with Vietnam in areas where France has advantages.

Representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam speaking at the Forum.

At the Dialogue, the two sides also sent a message that, in the context of the current volatile global economic, political and social situation, the cooperation programs and projects of the two sides may face many challenges and difficulties. However, with the determination of the Government, ministries, branches and localities of Vietnam and the support of the Government and partner organizations of France, the economic and financial cooperation relationship between France and Vietnam will continue to develop more strongly and substantially in the coming time, contributing significantly to the connection of the two economies.

In terms of trade, Vietnam is currently France's second largest trading partner in the ASEAN bloc, and France is Vietnam's fourth largest trading partner in the EU bloc. In 2024, the two countries' trade turnover will reach more than 5.4 billion USD, an increase of 12.9% compared to 2023, of which Vietnam will export more than 3.4 billion USD and import more than 2 billion USD.

Regarding investment, up to now, France has more than 700 investment projects in 16 economic sectors of Vietnam that are still in effect with a total registered capital of about 4 billion USD, ranking 16th out of 151 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Vietnam has 22 investment projects in France with a total registered capital of about 40 million USD.

Regarding development cooperation, France is one of the first and leading donors of ODA capital and preferential loans to Vietnam through two main funding agencies: the French Treasury and the French Development Agency (AFD). Projects using ODA capital and preferential loans from France in Vietnam are spread across the country and in all fields.

TO HA - QUYNH TRANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tang-cuong-hop-tac-thuc-chat-tren-nhieu-linh-vuc-giua-viet-nam-va-cong-hoa-phap-post921063.html