Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the municipalPeople’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen said the establishment of Vietnam-Francestrategic partnership in 2013 and mutual visits by leaders have opened up newopportunities for bilateral ties.
Tuyen recalled French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’sstatement during Ho Chi Minh City visit last month that both France and Vietnamanticipate a new world order based on trade multilateralisation andliberalisation and respect to international law.
He spoke highly of the French Consulate General and TradeOffice’s role in pooling technical resources and capital, thereby dealing withchallenges in socio-economic development toward the goal of building a green,modern and sustainable city.
The Vice Chairman expressed his wish to further boostall-around ties with French localities, especially in climate change, planningand urban lighting, education-training, high-quality workforce development,cultural exchange, and science-technology.
French Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Vincent Floreansaid after taking office in Ho Chi Minh City, he has seen effective cooperationbetween France and southern localities, saying that they have made importantstrides in joint work across economy, education-training, pharmaceuticals,agriculture, food, infrastructure and high technology.
He expressed his belief that visits by the two countries’leaders will propel bilateral ties forward.
In recent years, Ho Chi Minh City and the French city of Lyonsigned a cooperation agreement and successfully launched artistic lightingprojects. Meanwhile, the number of French nationals living and working inVietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, has grown to nearly 9,000.
France now ranks 16th among 100 countries andterritories investing in Ho Chi Minh City with two-way trade hitting 867million USD last year.-VNA