At the workshop, the President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Club, Jaques Oudin, confirmed that the Vietnamese people have a strong spirit of nationalism and a large, young population. The country is carving out a strong position in the world economy and the government is building on the country’s political stability to boost economic development.

Jacques Fourvel, a consultant for the French supermarket group Casino, told the participants that his group always gives top priority to Vietnam even in the current difficult economic climate. He said that Vietnam is an emerging economy full of potential and French enterprises should visit the country to examine the potential. He also expressed his belief that Vietnam will soon become modernized.

However, many French businesses do not have a comprehensive understanding of Vietnam, according to Therese Pham, Director General of the consultancy company PMO based in France.

She went to say that many major French firms want to invest in Vietnam because it is an ideal gateway to the Southeast Asian market but many of them hesitate to do so as they do not know very much about the country. Her company will help French firms keep abreast of Vietnam’s developments and do business with Vietnamese partners.

Meanwhile, the former President of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet, emphasized that France and Vietnam have a long-established relationship and a lot of potential for future cooperation.