French National Day marked in Ho Chi Minh City

French Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Emmanuel Ly Batallan, speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – A meeting marking the 228th anniversary of the French National Day (July 14, 1798 – July 14, 2017) was held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 11.

The event was co-organised by the HCM City Chapter of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Association and the city’s Vietnam-France Friendship Association.

Speaking at the event, Chairwoman of the city’s Vietnam-France Friendship Association Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung stressed that the relationship between Vietnam and France has strongly developed in different fields, including politics, economy, culture, society and people-to-people diplomacy.

She said cooperation ties between Ho Chi Minh City and France have also expanded, proven by investment by French businesses in the city and joint schemes in urban planning, urban lighting and education between the city and France’s Lyon city and Rhone-Alpes region.

According to Dung, the Association has served as a bridge connecting people of Ho Chi Minh City and French localities through coordinating the implementation of development projects and organising festivals, photo exhibitions and presenting scholarships.   

For his part, Emmanuel Ly Batallan, French Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, was delighted by the rapid development of Vietnam-France partnership. 

He also pledged to do his utmost to strengthen friendship of the two nations and foster bilateral trade cooperation and investment.

Currently, there are 492 French-invested projects 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, reaching 885 million USD in 2016. -VNA