Vietnam and France convened for the 8th session of the Vietnam-France High-Level Dialogue on Economy in Paris, underlining their commitment to fortifying economic ties. The meeting, co-chaired by Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong and French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade Franck Riester, spotlighted the evolving dynamic relationship between the two nations.
Minister Riester emphasized the dialogue’s critical role in advancing the 11-year strategic partnership that spans various sectors. He pointed out the necessity for both nations to amplify efforts to tackle global challenges and propel bilateral relations toward sustainable, comprehensive growth.
Riester recognized Vietnam as a dynamic ASEAN economy with a significant role in Indo-Pacific value chains, underscoring its strategic economic significance to France. He noted the substantial growth in bilateral trade, which has more than doubled over the past decade to 7.6 billion EUR in 2023, coupled with a marked increase in French foreign direct investment in Vietnam, totaling 1.5 billion EUR.
The French Minister expressed optimism about French businesses aiding Vietnam in reaching its climate targets, including the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), for which France, via the French Development Agency (AFD), has allocated 500 million EUR.
Deputy Minister Phuong elaborated on the expansion of cooperation across diverse sectors including trade, investment, and technology, emphasizing that economic relations remain a pillar of the strategic partnership despite global economic and political turbulences.
The session provided a platform for discussing economic strategies, policies, and collaborative projects, focusing on pivotal areas such as climate change response, green and digital transformation, and semiconductor industry development.
Both parties concurred on the significance of these domains for future collaboration and pledged support for Vietnam’s human resource training and expertise sharing to align with its development goals. Additional discussions with the AFD centered on expediting projects that meet the mutual criteria established by both countries.
The AFD advocated for enhanced governmental support to facilitate the realization of projects currently facing hurdles. Vietnam encouraged the AFD to persist in backing crucial projects and to secure special resources from the EU, including grants, to support AFD-funded projects moving forward.
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