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Vietnam and France established diplomatic relations in April 1973. Since the late 1980s, France has taken the lead among Western countries in building up their relationship and forgiving debt for Vietnam, helping to settle debts with its creditors who are members of the Paris Club.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and French PM Edouard Philipe, March, 2018.

The two countries signed a joint statement on the establishment of the Vietnam-France strategic partnership during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to France in 2013. The positive political relations between the two countries are marked by high-level visits, particularly the visit to Vietnam by French President Francois Hollande in 2016 and the visit to France by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in March 2018. The two countries have maintained many cooperative mechanisms, notably the annual dialogue on security and defence strategy and the annual high-level dialogue on the economy.

It is pleasing to see that the economic cooperation between Vietnam and France is growing well. France is Europe's fifth largest trading partner of Vietnam with bilateral trade of US$4.6 billion in 2017. Two-way trade volume in the first six months of 2018 reached US$2.3 billion. In 2017, France ranked third among European countries and 16th out of 114 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 512 valid investment projects posting a total registered capital of US$2.8 billion. Vietnamese businesses have so far invested in nine projects in France with a total investment capital of over US$3 million.

In terms of development cooperation, France is the leading bilateral official development assistance (ODA) donor for Vietnam, with Vietnam ranking second among Asian countries to receive French ODA, with total pledges of up to US$18.4 billion since 1993. France has so far provided preferential loans of EUR2.2 billion to Vietnam.

Education and training cooperation between the two countries has been established and boosted since the early 1980s. France always considers education and training a priority in its cooperation activities in Vietnam, focusing on French language teaching and human resources training at an undergraduate and postgraduate level in various fields, including economics, banking, finance, law, and new technology. 

France also ranks seventh among countries and territories investing in the tourism sector in Vietnam, with 14 projects worth a total US$188 million. Vietnam also identifies France as its key tourist market. The bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology, security-defense, cooperation between localities, and health has left many imprints. 

The Vietnamese community in France, which formed after the First World War, arrived at various times and circumstances. Over 300,000 Vietnamese people are currently living in France, most of whom have French citizenship. 

The official visit to Vietnam by the French Prime Minister, Eduardo Philippe, aims to further promote the Vietnam-France strategic partnership while creating favorable conditions for the two countries’ businesses to approach and learn about each other’s market, potential, and demand. 

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Nearly 300 candidates recruited at France - Vietnam Job Festival 2018

Nearly 300 candidates were recruited at the France - Vietnam Job Festival 2018, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City recently. 

 

Source: NDO