Vietnam, France boast huge cooperation opportunities: business forum

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 500 managers, scientists and businesspeople from Vietnam and France gathered at a business forum in Hanoi on April 15 as part of the 12th Vietnam-France decentralised cooperation conference.

The forum offered an opportunity to connect authorities of cities, investors and enterprises of the two countries, said Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen.

The sides also exchanged views, initiatives and solutions to raise mutual understanding and promote cooperation, while expanding exchange and collaboration between Vietnamese and French partners, he continued.

Quyen briefed the participants on Hanoi’s situation, with its GRDP growing 5.8% in the first quarter of this year, 1.7 times higher than the national average, and its budget collection reaching 128 trillion VND (5.48 billion USD), equivalent to 40% of the estimate.

For cooperation with France, he said since 1989 the capital city has attracted about 494.4 million USD in foreign direct investment from the country, including 7.8 million USD in 2022 and 0.92 million USD in the first three months of this year.  

In his remarks, French Ambassador Nicolas Warnery noted that the year 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties and 10 years of the establishment of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Over the past three days, the conference looked into solutions and projects on smart cities, sustainable urban and rural development, heritage and tourism, the diplomat said.

The French embassy will work to promote mutual understanding and deepen the bilateral relations across spheres, he pledged.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich noted that the two countries boast huge cooperation opportunities in the time ahead, explaining that Vietnam is an active, responsible member of ASEAN while France is a key member of the European Union. Both are members of the Francophone community as well as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement./.