
Hanoi (VNA) - Secretary of Ho ChiMinh City’s Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan on July 18 hosted a reception forout-going French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary.
During the meeting, the city official hailed the diplomat for his contributionsto strengthening the Vietnam-France relations.
While highlighting France’s contributions to the European Union - Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA), Nhan said he believes the deal will help enhance cooperationbetween the two countries across fields from investment-trade to culture andeducation.
For his part, Lortholary said the long-lasting relationship and their commonvision on international issues such as multilateralism and free trade, respect forinternational law would be foundation for the two sides to further tighten theirrelations.
According to the diplomat, the number of French people living in Vietnamhas been increasing, while the number of French visas granted to Vietnamese citizenssurged 65 percent in 2018.
Lortholary said he hopes the EVFTA willhelp Vietnamese goods deeply penetrate into France and other European countriesand vice versa.
In their meeting, the two sides also discussed issues related to health,education and culture cooperation.-VNA