Benoit Guidee, Asia and Oceania Director at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. (Published by VNA) Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporter in Paris, he said since the visitby then President François Mitterrand in 1993, France has made substantialcontributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development. On September 25, 2013,the two governments decided to elevate the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership to further intensify cooperation amid Vietnam’sincreasing affirmation of its role in the region and the world.
Vietnam and France launched the annual high-level economicdialogue in 2013. Cooperation in strategic development areas of Vietnam such asenergy, aerospace, banking, information technology, food and agriculture,transport, environment and infrastructure, has been carried out.
The potential of relations remains considerable, and both sidesshould work harder in these areas on the basis of the EU - Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA), he opined.
Aside from traditional cooperation fields, the bilateral partnershiphas also been growing substantially in global issues such as climatechange, Guidee noted, stressing that the climate change fight has become a bigconcern and a focus of the partnership as seen in the saltwater intrusionresponse projects in the Red River Delta and Mekong Delta of Vietnam.
Mentioning impacts of the regional and internationalenvironment on bilateral ties, the official said the health crisis caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic has shown the steadiness of the Vietnam - France relationsand the strength of their solidarity.
He heldthat the two countries should increase dialogues to cope with the fast changesthreatening such principles as multilateralism, the respect for internationallaw, and the freedom of navigation and overflight.
Regarding cooperation potential, Guidee expressed his beliefthat there are various opportunities for developing cooperation in bothbilateral and multilateral aspects in line with both sides’ priorities.
The top priority is international peace and security issues. The exchangeof opinions proved fruitful when Vietnam served as a non-permanent member ofthe United Nations Security Council in the 2020 - 2021 tenure. They have also worked togetherin peacekeeping training.
The two countries can do more tocontribute to stability in the Indo-Pacific, a region where France has strongpresence, he continued, adding that France, as a development partner, hopes tofurther enhance cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The second priority is related to global issues, includingclimate challenges. Within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership(JETP) between Vietnam and developed countries led by the G7, the FrenchGovernment, businesses, and experts have strongly taken part in a topicimportant to Vietnam’s future.
According to the official, France plans to cooperate more with Vietnam,especially via the French Development Agency and French companies, some ofwhich have their specialised capacity recognised globally in such areas assustainable city building, low-carbon transport, and low-carbon energy.
The third priority is about economic ties, Guidee said,pointing out that though bilateral trade has continuously hit records in recentyears, it is still unbalanced and hasn’t caught up with potential. France’s directinvestment in Vietnam hasn’t met the European country’s expectations whilethere are still many chances for Vietnamese investments in France, particularlyin environmental and energy transition.
Highlightingthe enhancement of people-to-people bonds as the fourth priority of the bilateralrelations, the official emphasised the two peoples’ close-knit ties, which are basedon the dynamism of the decentralised cooperation network, the role of France -Vietnam associations, the community of Vietnamese students in France, and the diversecultural connections between their countries./.
VNA
