
Dien briefed the French diplomat on theimplementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), adding Vietnam welcomes positive outcomes of the trade deal in promoting the economicand trade ties between Vietnam and the EU member states.
Speaking highly of the operation of several French energy corporations inVietnam, he said his ministry always creates favourable conditions for thefirms, and expects concerted efforts from the EU enterprises to achieve thebest business result in the country.
Ambassdor Olivier Brochet said that France will help Vietnam build legalstandards and further capitalise on the EVFTA to bolster the Vietnam – France economicrelations.
He said he will work to promote the shipment of products in France’s strengthsin aviation, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and food processing to Vietnam.
The diplomat also mentioned the French Senate’s invitation to Minister Dien to attend theFrance-ASEAN forum as a honourable guestin December, elaborating that the event is important for Vietnam to promote ties with France under the existing commitments which were made following theofficial visit to France by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in 2021.
Theyear 2023 is a significant milestone in the Vietnam – France relations as bothsides are celebrating their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership.
With their time-tested ties, Vietnam and France have developed multifacetedcooperation in all fields, especially economy, trade and investment. France is currently the 4th largest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU, with two-way trade enjoying robustgrowth of average 15.7% during 2011-2019.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, two-way trade revenuein 2022 was 5.3 billion USD, up 11.1% from the previous year, with Vietnamexporting 3.7 billion USD worth of products to France, and importing 1.6billion USD, up 15.2% and 2.8%, respectively.
However, due to global headwinds, total trade turnover between the two nationsduring January-September fell 10.2% year-on-year to only 3.5 billion USD, ofwhich Vietnam’s exports was valued at 2.4 billion USD, and imports 1.1 billion USD./.