Seminar boosts Vietnam-France economic cooperation

A Vietnam-France economic seminar took place in Paris on September 17 as part of the L’Humanite press festival held by the French Communist Party (FCP).

The seminar was initiated by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the FCP aiming to boost trade and industrial cooperation between businesses and localities.

Joining the event were Party Central Committee member and Editor in-chief of the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper Thuan Huu; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hai Nam; and Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga along with representatives from relevant Vietnamese ministries and sectors.

The participants said France is one of Vietnam’s leading European partners but the economic situation between the two countries is still far from matching its potential.

According to Deputy Minister Nam, two-way trade between Vietnam and France increased from EUR709 million in 2000 to more than EUR2 billion in 2010 with annual average growth of 13 percent. This figure is expected to hit EUR2.4 billion this year, up 20 percent from the previous year.

France has been exporting high-quality products to Vietnam, most of which are highly appreciated by the Vietnamese public, and France’s export turnover is predicted to pick up in the future.

A number of measures to fully tap the two countries’ potential and limit the negative impacts of the global economic crisis on their economies were discussed at the seminar, as well as economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Vietnamese ambassador to France Duong Chi Dung said, in addition to the established cooperation mechanisms and the 15 signed agreements, both countries need to make greater efforts to bring their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

Tags: Vietnam France economic cooperation