HCM City (VNA) – A meetingmarking the 228th anniversary of the French National Day (July 14, 1798 – July14, 2017) was held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 11.
The event was co-organised bythe HCM City Chapter of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Association and the city’sVietnam-France Friendship Association.
Speaking at the event, Chairwoman of the city’sVietnam-France Friendship Association Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung stressed that therelationship between Vietnam and France has strongly developed in differentfields, including politics, economy, culture, society and people-to-peoplediplomacy.
She said cooperation ties between Ho Chi MinhCity and France have also expanded, proven by investment by French businessesin the city and joint schemes in urban planning, urban lighting and educationbetween the city and France’s Lyon city and Rhone-Alpes region.
According to Dung, the Association has served asa bridge connecting people of Ho Chi Minh City and French localities through coordinatingthe implementation of development projects and organising festivals, photoexhibitions and presenting scholarships.
For his part, Emmanuel Ly Batallan, French ConsulGeneral in Ho Chi Minh City, was delighted by the rapid development ofVietnam-France partnership.
He also pledged to do his utmost to strengthenfriendship of the two nations and foster bilateral trade cooperation andinvestment.
Currently, there are 492 French-investedprojects with total investment capital of 3.4 billion USD in Ho Chi Minh City.Trade turnover between the city and France has increased year by year, reaching885 million USD in 2016. -VNA
