President hails special Vietnam-France relations

President Quang said the bilateral relationship was of special significance because it is a relationship between two nations that have historic ties and between a leading European country with a dynamic developing Asian country.

Over the years, bilateral friendship and cooperation have grown steadily and defence cooperation has become one of the pillars in the strategic partnership between the two nation and will be broadened in the time to come.

The President said one of the most important milestones in ties was the signing of a Joint Statement on establishing the Vietnam-France strategic Partnership in 2003. 

In recent years, bilateral cooperation has reaped fruitful results in the fields of politics, external relations, economics, trade, investment, science, technology, culture, and education. 

France is Vietnam’s 5th largest European trade partner and one of Vietnam’s top ODA donors. Two-way trade between Vietnam and France reached US$ 4.2 billion last year. 

Both nations have augmented cooperation across a variety of fields, including science, technology, health care, education and national defense.

The State leader affirmed Vietnam's readiness to bolster cooperation with other countries including France for peace, stability and mutual benefit.

He called for strengthened mutual support in UN peacekeeping operations and further cooperation in ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation, cyber security and non-traditional security.

"Vietnam supports France to play an active and constructive role so that the two countries can contribute to promoting and protecting the common interests of the international community," he said.