The French press has carried a number of stories highlighting the official visit to France by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation from March 25-27 at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.


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CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron



The Le Monde newspaper published an article of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong featuring bright prospects for Vietnam-France traditional relations. 

In his article, the Party chief described France as a leading partner of Vietnam over the past 45 years and evaluated that there are a plenty of opportunities for the two countries to enhance cooperation.

France is one of the leading European sponsors of Vietnam with hundreds of agreements signed between universities and research centres. Currently, about 7,000 Vietnamese students and apprentices are studying in France.

France is a key nation in Europe and plays an active role in the globe while Vietnam is a rapidly growing and dynamic economy with nearly 100 million people, having a crucial role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia.

The two countries share a lot of similarities and benefits in international issues. Therefore, the development of the bilateral relations is needed for mutual interests, he said.

The Party leader called on Vietnam and France to create new momentum to further deepen their strategic partnership, increase political trust via regular high-level delegation exchanges and improve the efficiency of dialogue and cooperation mechanisms while expanding collaborative ties across politics, diplomacy, defence and security and stepping up partnership in economics, trade, investment, science-technology, energy, health care, culture, education, tourism, judicial activities, and environmental protection in addition to promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities.

Meanwhile, the Les Echos newspaper on March 27 run a story highlighting Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong’s activities during his official visit to France on the occasion of the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties. At his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, the two sides agreed to step up economic cooperation to reinforce the bilateral relations. The article also highlighted Vietnam as one of the most dynamic economies in Asia with an annual average growth of 6 percent, which is forecast to expand to 6.8 percent in 2018 by international organisations.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) could be ratified and come into force this year. With the engagement in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam is forging ahead with international integration, the article said.

The newspaper quoted French President Emmanuel Macron as saying that he is scheduled to visit Vietnam – a country with impressive economic achievements – in 2019.

It also reviewed the economic partnership between Vietnam and France. With total investment of about 2.8 billion USD, France is the 16th biggest investor in Vietnam. 

During his visit, Party leader Trong had meetings with Vietnamese and French enterprises, referring to cooperation fields of mutual concern such as energy, food processing, transport, health care and digital technology.

The L’Humanite, the mouthpiece of the French Communist Party, published an interview of Hoang Binh Quan, member of the CPV Central Committee and head of the Committee’s Commission for External Affairs, spotlighting Vietnam’s economic development achievements and international integration strategies, as well as activities of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Paris.

The Le Parisien newspaper ran an article highlighting the visit of the Vietnamese leader to Choisy le Roi city, which witnessed the five-year negotiations for the birth of the Paris Accords to put an end to war in Vietnam. 

The French business magazine Challenges and the BFMTV television underlined economic contracts signed between France and Vietnam during the visit of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

While holding talks with the Vietnamese Party chief, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the establishment of the French House in Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and pledged to boost tertiary education cooperation and develop the Francophone community.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong concluded his official visit to France on March 28, leaving for the next trip to Cuba.

Upon his departure after three days in France, the Vietnamese leader sent a thank-you letter to President Emmanuel Macron.

The letter wrote that he and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation were delight at fruitful outcomes of the visit, which took place on the occasion of the two countries marking 45 years of bilateral relations and five years of strategic partnership.

“We believe that good outcomes of the visit and several cooperation pacts signed between the two countries across fields will open up a new chapter for bilateral ties, with cooperation strengthened towards effectiveness for benefits of our people, as well as for peace, stability, collaboration and development.”

He said he was impressed by an innovative and dynamic France, which is proving its increasingly important role in Europe and the world.  

Party chief Trong expressed his sincere thanks to President Emmanuel Macron and other French leaders for their warm welcome to the Vietnamese delegation.

He wished the European country more successes and the bilateral strategic partnership increasingly fruitful development.



VNA