French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery (Source: VNA) Prior to France's National Day on July 14, the ambassador told the press that the two countrieshave also maintained people-to-people exchanges,especially students, adding that France has increased scholarships toVietnamese students.
They have continued with bilateral cooperation projects,including metro line No. 3 in Hanoi – a symbol of the bilateral economic ties, andothers in climate change, heritage preservation and French language teaching inVietnam.
According to the ambassador, Vietnam and Franceshowed their friendship, solidarity and support during the pandemic combat, asVietnam provided facial masks for France in 2020, while France donated 3.5 milliondoses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Southeast Asian nation through bilateral cooperationchannels and the COVAX Facility.
He stressed that France wants to promote thepresence of its enterprises in Vietnam, and held that bilateral trade can growfurther in the context of the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) coming into force on August 1, 2020.
Apart from traditional cooperation spheres, Francewished to expand the bilateral collaboration in new fields such as renewable energy,urban planning and sustainable city development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosts the French ambassador last year. (Photo: VNA) The diplomat said the value of French scholarshipsto Vietnamese students will increase by 20 percent this year as compared withthe previous year. France is also an incubator for Vietnamese startups,he continued.
For the celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023, he said it will begin right inDecember 2022 with a conference in Hanoi, and there will be multiple activitiesnext year./.
VNA
