Vietnam will do its utmost to nurture its traditional friendship with France, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said on October 9 during her talks with Vice President of the French Senate Jacqueline Gourault.

The Vice Chairwoman, who is leading a NA delegation to visit France from October 8-11, said that Vietnam wishes to receive France’s recognition of her market economy and to be supported for an early conclusion of a free trade agreement with the European Union.

She voiced her hope for very active ties with the European country in its advantageous fields like education, science-technology, climate change response and energy.

The Vietnamese official affirmed the NA’s commitment to working with the French side to well implement national programmes within the Francophone community. She also expressed her gratitude for French authorities supporting Vietnamese people there.

For her part, Jacqueline Gourault vowed to continue her efforts to enhance the special collaboration between the two countries.

The same day, Vice Chairwoman Phong was received by Senator Christiane Kammermann, Vice President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, who said that Vietnam is a gateway for France to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Phong met the Deputy Mayor of Montreuil city, Philippe Lamarche.

She laid a wreath at late President Ho Chi Minh’s statue and visited the Ho Chi Minh Space at the Museum of Living History in Montreuil.-VNA