Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hong on April 14 met with a senior French official who is on a visit to explore cooperation between his country and Vietnam’s southern business hub.

The growing relations between Vietnam and France have enabled the two countries to strengthen their ties in all fields, Hong told Matthias Fekl, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the Promotion of Tourism and French Nationals Abroad under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Though HCM City has housed a number of French investments, its potential has yet been fully tapped by firms from the European country, she noted, adding that it is looking forward to workshops with French companies to provide them with more information about their opportunities here.

The official appreciated France ’s enormous assistance in agriculture, education, and health care over the past years, stressing that the city hopes for further support in these fields in the future, especially in how to treat post-harvest fruits for global export.

Matthias Fekl said he was impressed with the development of Vietnam and HCM City in particular, highlighting the expansion of the countries’ relations in various realms as well as cultural and economic exchanges between their localities.

He told his host that a number of young French entrepreneurs have expressed their interest in seeking investment opportunities in HCM City .

He voiced his belief that more French investments and effectively implemented projects in the time ahead will contribute to the growth of the city and Vietnam as well.

France currently ranks ninth among countries and territories investing in HCM City and their two-way trade in 2014 increased by 6 percent from a year earlier. The city welcomed around 100,000 French arrivals last year.-VNA