Vietnamese Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang and French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing Thierry Mariani reached consensus on speeding up cooperative transportation projects during their talks on Jan. 13 in Hanoi .

At the talks, Minister Thang thanked the French Government for the assistance it has offered to Vietnam ’s transport sector, particularly in the development of railway, aviation and urban transportation.

The two ministers discussed measures to remove difficulties for several French- funded projects. The upgrading of the Yen Vien – Lao Cai railway route, modernisation of railway signal system of Hanoi- Vinh route and the building of a tunnel underneath Ca mountain pass as well as a staff training programme are facing obstacles caused by mechanism, policies and capital, thus lagging behind schedule.

Apart from underway projects, other cooperative contents between the two countries in the future were also preliminarily agreed such as infrastructure development with France’s assistance in the public- private partnership form, further promoting cooperation in aviation, official signing aviation agreements, supplementing the new air route chart, and expanding training programmes for Vietnamese transport staff./.