Vietnam gives high priority to Strategic Partnership with France

On the afternoon of October 20, at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had a high-level phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during a high-level phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: VNA

In the friendly atmosphere on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1973-2023) and 10 years of the Strategic Partnership (2013-2023), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized that the phone call demonstrated the importance of the leaders of the two countries to the Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership and the desire of the leaders of the two countries to strengthen cooperation for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world in the new period, VNA reported.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong highly appreciated the success of the French Government as well as President Emmanuel Macron personally in implementing reforms in many economic and social fields to make France develop more strongly and the French people have a safer and more prosperous life; enhance France's active role in consolidating the European Union, contribute to solving challenges in Europe and other regions of the world, and take the lead in promoting cooperation to handle many global issues.

On this occasion, the General Secretary thanked France for its cooperation and support for Vietnam over the years, including its help in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong discussed with the French President about Vietnam's great, comprehensive and outstanding achievements after more than 35 years of Doi Moi, as well as the results of economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic; informed the French President about Vietnam's development goals until the middle of the 21st century and Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization and diversification of relations.

The General Secretary emphasized the importance of peace, friendship and cooperation as well as compliance with the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter in handling international issues, including ensuring peace and security in the East Sea region.

Expressing his delight at the continued comprehensive and fruitful development of the Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that the two sides have actively implemented the contents of the Joint Statement between the two countries' leaders during the General Secretary's visit to France in 2018.

The General Secretary stressed that the two countries share views on many important international issues, have many similar major interests and are closely linked in history and culture; affirming that Vietnam attaches importance to and gives high priority to the Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership and supports France's initiatives for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

The General Secretary discussed with the French President a number of major directions and measures to expand and enhance the effectiveness of cooperation between the two countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron thanked General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for his positive evaluations, expressed his impression of Vietnam's great achievements in national development, affirmed that France attaches importance to Vietnam's international role and position and the France-Vietnam Strategic Partnership; and emphasized that France always accompanies Vietnam in realizing the country's strategic development goals.

The French President shared the General Secretary’s assessment of the positive developments in the strategic partnership between the two countries in recent times; affirming that the phone call was an important occasion for the two countries’ leaders to discuss strategic orientations for developing bilateral relations in the next 20 years.

The French President expressed his delight at the fact that the leaders of the two countries shared many similarities in bilateral cooperation contents; agreed that the two countries need to continue to strengthen political trust and people-to-people exchanges; promote and create strong changes in cooperation in areas such as defense-security, economy, trade, investment, aviation, energy conversion, science and technology, culture, engineering, etc.

The French President affirmed his support for Vietnam in strengthening cooperation with the EU, including the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and cooperation in the field of fisheries; he hoped that the two countries would strengthen cooperation within multilateral frameworks, especially within the Francophone Community.

The two leaders agreed to direct relevant agencies to actively implement the contents agreed upon by the two sides.

On this occasion, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong reiterated his invitation to the French President to visit Vietnam and the French President happily accepted.

Laodong.vn