Hanoi (VNA) - French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on November 2 beginshis three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc.
Vietnam and France set up diplomatic ties on April 12, 1973. Overcoming ups anddowns in history, over the past 45 years, especially since the establishment ofthe strategic partnership in 2013, Vietnam-France relations have developed unceasingly.
In the past years, the two sides have maintained the exchange of high-leveldelegations. Particularly, a visit to France by General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong in March 2018 hascreated a strong driving force for the development of bilateral ties in thefields of politics, economy, culture, education, healthcare and nationaldefence.
Bilateral trade between Vietnam and France have seen positive growth, withVietnam having enjoyed continuous trade surplus since 2010, reported the Ministryof Industry and Trade.
In 2017, the two-way trade value exceeded 4.6 billion USD, up 11.6 percent from2016. The figure included 3.3 billion USD worth of Vietnamese exports to Franceand 1.3 billion USD worth of imports from the European country, both increasingby over 11 percent year on year.
France is an important European partner of Vietnam. It also respects Vietnam’sstature and contributions to peace, stability and development in the region andthe world. Vietnam’s membership of the ASEAN Economic Community and many freetradeagreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA), expected to take effect in the near future, will bring new cooperationchances for both countries.-VNA