Vietnam has made remarkable achievements in its socio-economic development, elevating the country’s position in the international arena after 30 years of “Doi Moi” (Reform) buoyed by the Party’s judicious policies.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Ngoc Son made the statement during a dialogue to discuss Vietnam’s achievements after adopting an open-door policy, held in Paris on January 29.

Son underscored that Vietnam has established diplomatic ties with over 180 countries and strategic partnerships with 13 countries, while joining almost all major regional and international organisations. Bilateral ties between Vietnam and numerous countries in the world have deepened across politics, defence, security, culture and society.

However, he also noted that Vietnam is facing a number of challenges, such as poor infrastructure and the low competitive capacity of enterprises and the economy as a whole.

A number of French scholars took the occasion to express their view on Vietnam’s development, including former French Ambassador to Vietnam Antoine Pouillieute who recommended that Vietnam should avoid the middle-income trap by increasing purchasing power as well as promoting education and efficient investments.

Christian J.P. Weets, an international financial consultant at W.I Finance Company, said apart from developing industrial sector, Vietnam should focus on agricultural investments to enlarge its market share because agriculture is the country’s strength.

Director of the observatory on dialogue and social intelligence Jean- Francois Chantaraud emphasised that Vietnam is drawing global attention thanks to its achievements in renovation.-VNA