Paris (VNA) – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam’s official visit to France from September 9 to 12 once again affirms France’s role as a priority partner in Europe, while opening room to deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across various fields, said Chairman of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association (AAFV) Nguyen Hai Nam.
Speaking to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Paris ahead of the visit, Nam said the trip demonstrates that France is truly a special partner of Vietnam in Europe. France can serve as a gateway for Vietnam to access the European Union (EU), while Vietnam can be France’s entry point for deeper engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
According to him, Vietnam-France relations rest on longstanding historical ties, reflected in the vitality of the Vietnamese community in France, the largest in Europe and one of the largest overseas Vietnamese communities globally across generations.
Yet economic exchanges remain disproportionate to the depth of historical and people-to-people ties, Nam said, leaving considerable room to expand cooperation in fashion, transport, technology and science.
He underscored the strategic and geopolitical significance of the upgraded partnership, noting Vietnam's open foreign policy of dialogue with all partners bears similarities to France's diplomatic tradition that took shape under President Charles de Gaulle and continued under President François Mitterrand.
Those similarities carry weight amid current international challenges, with protecting international bodies and promoting multilateralism being shared priorities for Hanoi and Paris, Nam said.
Beyond strategic ties, economy, culture and sports also offer promise. Vietnam can sharpen its global position by leveraging soft power to create more space for cooperation with France, with youth connections critical to building a long-term foundation.
Citing the France-Germany experience, he said university exchanges were essential to rebuilding relations after World War II. Vietnam and France could similarly inject momentum into university exchanges, potentially studying mechanisms like the Franco-German Youth Office.
Such mechanisms could forge lasting ties between Vietnamese and French youth while renewing the two countries' special historical bonds for future generations, he said.
Culture and arts also offer an effective channel to connect young people, Nam said, urging joint projects in music and dance that resonate strongly with younger audiences.
He proposed developing V-pop's international reach using K-pop's growth model, bringing together Vietnamese and French artists, creators and young talent.
Such projects would boost Vietnamese culture's visibility in France, bring French culture closer to Vietnamese audiences, and project a modern, dynamic image of bilateral cooperation to younger generations, he added./.
