Economic pillar “shines” with important milestone in France-Vietnam relations

After half a century of establishing diplomatic relations, the top leaders of Vietnam and France decided to upgrade the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on October 7, making France the 8th country to have this level of relationship with Vietnam.

Kinh te & Do thi Newspaper had an interview with French Ambassador to Vietnam - Mr. Olivier Brochet about new impetus for economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, after this milestone.

General Secretary To Lam and French President Emmanuel Macron.

France is the first country in the European Union (EU) to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam. What does this mean, sir?

Over the past 50 years, France has been one of the European countries that has maintained a strong, trusting cooperative relationship, contributing to and accompanying Vietnam in its development process.

Both sides highly appreciate the responsibility and affirm their voice in international issues. While France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, maintaining its commitment in the Pacific - Indian Ocean region, Vietnam is also a reliable partner worldwide, contributing its voice and strong commitment to common regional issues.

For France, upgrading relations with Vietnam demonstrates a stronger commitment to accompanying Vietnam's sustainable development and innovation process as well as affirming its independence and sovereignty.

On the other hand, this is also the spirit that EU member states in general expect to promote in the coming time. I believe that this important milestone will create further momentum for cooperation between Vietnam and France in particular, and the EU in general in the coming time.

With this milestone, how can Vietnam and France cooperate to promote the relationship between the EU and ASEAN?

ASEAN is currently a very important partner of the EU, ranking third after China and the US in terms of trade relations. France also has strong trade relations with ASEAN. France and the EU highly value the central role of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region and the world.

In the ASEAN region, only Vietnam and Singapore have implemented a Free Trade Agreement with the EU - demonstrating your leading role in strengthening the development momentum of ASEAN and the EU. During his recent official visit to France, General Secretary and President To Lam also visited the port of Le Havre - a major French seaport. This is considered a symbol of bright potential for economic and trade integration cooperation between the two countries. On the other hand, the EU and ASEAN also have a maritime cooperation program, thereby helping to enhance economic development as well as maintain security, peace and stability in the region.

With the upgrading of relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, how do you see the potential for enhancing trade relations between Vietnam and France?

On the basis of the Vietnam – European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), trade cooperation activities between ASEAN and the EU in general, and Vietnam and France in particular, have made many strong strides in recent times.

In particular, the trade surplus is still tilted towards Vietnam compared to other EU member countries. However, I believe that once the regulations are applied more fully, along with the growing Vietnamese economy, forming a middle class with new needs, it will create conditions for European goods to have a new foothold in the Vietnamese market.

I can mention 4 potential areas: aviation, European pharmaceuticals, food and high-end cosmetics. These are service industries that can "catch the wave" of growth from Europe to Vietnam in the near future.

On the other hand, in the context of upgrading relations, through exchanges, the leaders of the two countries also expressed their expectation that France would support Vietnam in increasing the added value of its products and services, through French enterprises increasing investment in the production process in Vietnam. Currently, there are also cooperative enterprises bringing machinery and equipment to establish such professional and high-quality production lines in Vietnam.

In addition, the two countries also identified a number of strategic and fundamental areas in which the participation of French enterprises is clearly demonstrated. For example, in sustainable transport, the Metro No. 3 project (Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station) is a specific example.

Another area is energy. It is known that Vietnam has a high demand for energy to serve its development goals, and is in the process of energy transition to realize the goal of carbon neutrality. French enterprises are ready to accompany in this area.

Within the framework of the Joint Statement after the visit of the General Secretary, President To Lam also pointed out a number of areas that the two sides plan to develop, including exploring new areas, especially in innovation, creativity, nuclear power, sustainable development, etc.

How can Vietnam and France encourage more two-way investment between businesses and industries in both countries? What key policies or initiatives can be implemented to attract more French investment to Vietnam and vice versa?

French businesses have a strong presence in Vietnam with a total investment of nearly 4 billion Euros and a community of about 220 businesses, employing tens of thousands of workers, making a significant contribution to the Vietnamese economy.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the opening of a workshop in Paris between the chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries. In general, the wishes of French enterprises when investing or intending to invest in your country are to expect improvements in intellectual property protection, simplification of administrative procedures and the expectation that the EVFTA will be fully and strictly applied.

French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet.

On the other hand, I think it is also necessary to strengthen the promotion and information of Vietnam's investment potential to the French side. We welcome Vietnamese enterprises to invest in the French market to take advantage of the favorable investment ecosystem here with a chain of high-quality research centers, a favorable tax system that encourages innovation.

With its experience in innovation, how can France support Vietnam, sir? Which areas of technological cooperation can be prioritized?

France is still actively supporting Vietnam in the process of training innovative human resources. As stated in the Joint Statement, the two sides agreed to promote people-to-people exchange activities to increase Vietnamese students studying in France or studying at institutions in Vietnam affiliated with France.

On the other hand, France can also accompany Vietnam in the process of building public policies that “open the way” for the field of innovation. We have coordinated with the National Center for Innovation (NIC) through Banque Populaire - the French public investment bank, the French Development Agency (AFD), to help Vietnam build a startup ecosystem.

The FrancoTech Forum recently had the honor of welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam to attend as part of his official visit. France's Station F is also considered the largest startup incubator in Europe. On that basis, France believes it can share its experience with Vietnam in this field. Even businesses that are currently operating in Vietnam are actively involved in the R&D process to create new products in Vietnam for export all over the world, such as Decathlon in the field of sports equipment, or Sanofi in pharmaceuticals...

Regarding local cooperation, Vietnam and France also have outstanding marks, in which the relationship between the capital Hanoi and the Ile-de-France region is considered a "model" for the region. How will this aspect be promoted in the coming time, sir?

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership includes many contents, including local cooperation. When referring to Hanoi and the Ile-de-France region, this is indeed a model, a very specific example. The two sides have implemented cooperation in many fields, especially sustainable transport.

As far as I know, recently a delegation from Ile-de-France came to Vietnam to discuss cooperation in multi-modal transport design, and at the same time study the travel needs of Hanoi people, which will become a useful guide for French investors wishing to operate in Vietnam.

During the visit, General Secretary and President To Lam was also very pleased to mention local cooperation. When visiting the city of Le Havre to meet former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, General Secretary and President To Lam also mentioned the potential for this city to be twinned with a Vietnamese city.

In general, in my opinion, the potential for local cooperation in the coming time is huge, through many specific projects with content that can span many fields from trade, to tourism, culture, people-to-people exchange...

I believe that with this new milestone in bilateral relations, local cooperation will also find new impetus, especially the 2026 Local Cooperation Conference scheduled to take place in France in the near future, which will be an occasion worth looking forward to.

Thank you!