President of the French National Assembly Claude Bartolone (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – President of the French National Assembly Claude Bartolone has said he wants to hold exchanges with Vietnam’s relevant agencies on how to increase the investment of French businesses in Vietnam, during his ongoing visit to the Southeast Asian country.
The visit also aims to seek to balance the bilateral trade deficit, which is leaning towards the European country, he said at a press conference in Hanoi on March 18.
Bartolone noted that a number of French businesses are making effective investments in Vietnam in the fields of goods distribution, medicine and transport.
He said he hopes there will be more opportunities for French enterprises to invest in Vietnam, especially in their strengths such as high technology, energy saving and the environment.
The French National Assembly ratified the Vietnam – EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) on March 17, he noted.
Bartolone expressed his pleasure in visiting Vietnam, which follows high-level delegation exchanges between the two nations.
He said that before the visit, he met with French President Francois Hollande who expressed wish to visit Vietnam in the latter half of 2016.
The French NA leader added that he was happy that the visit falls on the celebration of the International Francophone Day (March 20).
He stressed that Vietnam is a significant member of the Francophone movement, citing that over 7,000 Vietnamese students are pursuing education in France, while an increasing number of French students are studying in Vietnam.
The visit is also a chance for him to study the regional issues, including those relating to the East Sea, he said, reiterating France’s viewpoint of supporting the respect for international law, especially those set by the United Nations, to ensure navigation and aviation freedom in the region.
The French top legislator witnessed a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on receiving French volunteers at Vietnam’s general education institutions.
The MoU inked between Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien and French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean Noel Poirier aims to build a bilateral cooperation framework to support the teaching and learning of French in Vietnam.-VNA
