President Tran Dai Quang (R) and AFP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Source: VNA) The State leader hailed AFP’s media tradition and stature as one of the three largest press agencies in the world, saying that AFP was the first and only foreign press outlet based in Vietnam since 1950.
He expressed appreciation for AFP’s widespread and comprehensive coverage of Vietnam through traditional and novel news platforms over nearly 70 years.
The Vietnamese media landscape is changing significantly with the emergence of new media platforms such as digital, Internet and electronic news, he said, adding that more than half of Vietnamese population are subscribing to the Internet.
Speaking highly of effective cooperation between AFP and domestic press agencies such as the Vietnam News Agency and Vietnam Television, Quang noted that there remain many cooperation opportunities for AFP in Vietnam.
The host took the occasion to ask the French news agency to continue providing the world with objective coverage of Vietnam as well as the growing Vietnam-France ties in diverse areas, especially in the fields of economy, culture and people-to-people exchange.
The development of the Vietnam-France strategic partnership is always one of the priorities in Vietnam’s external policy of openness, active and proactive integration into the world, he stated.
He said celebrations for the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties next year will afford both countries a good chance to raise mutual understanding.
Hoog, for his part, underscored the importance of AFP’s permanent presence in Vietnam to do its job.
He said AFP has made strong commitment to Vietnam regarding professional cooperation and is modernising ways of communications.
According to him, seven Vietnamese television channels have contracted with AFP to use its television images, and growing demand for television news in Vietnam has strengthened AFP’s belief in venturing into such path.
While mentioning challenges faced by press agencies amid the Internet boom era, Hoog expressed his trust in their long-term and sustainable future if they could catch up with new trends and renew communications forms.-VNA
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