Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Stephanie Do, President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Chairwoman of theNational Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has urged the Vietnam-France andFrance-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Groups to increase exchanges for bettermutual understanding of each other’s country and people.
At a reception for Stephanie Do, President ofthe France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group (FVFPG) in Hanoi on July17, Ngan shared her good impression about her official visit to France in April2019, during which she met with President of the Senate of France GerandLarcher, President of the National Assembly of France Richard Ferrand, andFrench Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
She said the French leaders reiterated theirsupport for the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and theEU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), showing the effectivestrategic partnership between Vietnam and France.
Do said Vietnam-France relations have beengrowing over the past more than 45 and the bilateral trust has beendemonstrated through high-level visits in recent time.
She described Ngan’s official visit to Francein April as a turning point in the strong development of parliamentarycooperation between Vietnam and France as well as between their localities.
Do said, as a member of the French NA and FVFPGPresident, she is willing to make contributions to the bilateral friendship andcooperation as well as their coordination on the international arena.
The guest also expressed her pleasure at theactive implementation of bilateral cooperation projects, including the projecton the building of an e-government.
The priority in the coming time will be givento strengthening cooperative ties between Vietnamese and French businesses andencouraging more Vietnamese students to study in France, she said.
Do urged Vietnam and France to pay dueattention to ecological protection, especially when the EVFTA was signed, aswell as obey the Paris agreement on climate change in 2015.
Ngan said the friendly relations betweenVietnam and France have been growing strongly and sustainably, especially afterthe establishment of strategic partnership in 2013, and affirmed that Vietnamalways attaches great importance to relations with France in its externalpolicy.
The Chairwoman underlined economic cooperationas an important pillar in the bilateral strategic partnership. France is thethird biggest European investor in Vietnam with 512 projects worth 2.8 billionUSD, and the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe with two-waytrade hit 5.1 billion USD in 2018, she noted.
Vietnam highly appreciated France’s policy on strengthening economicpartnership with the Southeast Asian country, she said, adding that more than200 French enterprises are operating in Vietnam and close to 215,000 Frenchtourists visited Vietnam in 2018.
Vietnam hoped France will maintain theprovision of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, focusing onsustainable development cooperation in the fields of environment, agriculture,forestation, and natural disaster prevention, Ngan said, expressed her thanksto France for supporting Vietnam in climate change adaptation.
The top legislator asked the two sides toincrease connections and support for businesses to access their markets. Vietnamis willing to create all possible conditions for French businesses to joininvestment projects in Vietnam in various fields such as infrastructure, cleanenergy, renewable energy, smart city, and health care, she said.
The Chairwoman asked France to support Vietnamto export its farm produce and aquatic products to distribution systems inFrance and the European Union.
The locality-to-locality cooperation is aspecial feature in Vietnam-France relations, which has helped promote thebilateral strategic partnership, Ngan said, noting that 38 French localitieshave set up cooperative or twin ties with 18 Vietnamese cities and provinces.
Regarding the illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing, Ngan said Vietnam is making every effort to have theEU’s “yellow card” removed and perform the EU’s recommendations, including theimplementation of the Law on aquaculture, the national action programme on IUU,and development of international cooperation in fishing. Therefore, sheasked France to persuade the EU to soon lift the “yellow card” on Vietnameseaquatic products.
The Chairwoman also hoped Do and other members ofthe France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group to continue supportingthe overseas Vietnamese community in France.-VNA
VNA
