Paris (VNA) – A Vietnam-France Investment and Trade Promotion Seminar was held in Paris on November 13 to strengthen connections and seek cooperation opportunities between the Mekong Delta province of Long An and France.
The event was part of Long An's investment and trade promotion programme in Europe.
At the event, Vice Chairman of the Long An provincial People’s Committee Huynh Van Son briefly introduced the province’s achievements and advantages.
France ranks second in the European Union (EU) and the 12th out of 41 countries and territories worldwide in terms of investment in Long An, with 12 projects and total registered capital of over 161 million USD, operating mainly in the fields of shipbuilding and mineral water production, he said.
Son emphasised that France is currently the 4th largest trading partner and the 2nd biggest investment partner of Vietnam in the EU with many large investors and many projects across the Southeast Asian country.
Especially after the working trip of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to France in early October, Vietnam and France became comprehensive strategic partners, helping to firmly consolidate the foundations of the two countries’ relations, and explore new cooperation areas.
Son noted that the provincial delegation’s visit to France aims to build and develop cooperative relations with French localities and businesses in various fields, especially economic development.
Christophe Bellanger, Vice President in charge of international affairs at the Paris - Île-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), said that the agency will help promote potential of Long An and other Vietnamese localities to French businesses so that they can explore opportunities to invest or export their products to Vietnam in general and Long An in particular.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the provincial Party’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc said through the seminar, Long An wants to promote its image and introduce its planning, orientation and priority investment areas to CCI Paris Paris - Ile-de-France and its members. Green and clean energy, industrial production and hi-tech are potential areas for the two sides to cooperate.
Earlier, within the framework of a two-day working visit to France, the Long An delegation visited and worked at the Soletanche Freyssinet Group which is specialising in infrastructure construction. The company operates in more than 60 countries with 7,300 employees, implementing more than 10,000 projects each year. In Vietnam, Freyssinet participated in many large projects such as Thu Thiem 2 bridge, My Thuan 2 bridge, An Dong bridge, Bai Chay bridge and Cua Dai bridge.
On this occasion, the delegation also visited and learned about the Metro Grand Paris Express construction project, a major project of the Paris Region to solve traffic problems of this large area./.
