Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and his French counterpart Edouard Philippe witness the signing of cooperation agreements between the two countries (Photo: VNA)Hanoi(VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his French counterpart EdouardPhilippe affirmed their determination to deepen the Vietnam-France strategicpartnership for shared benefit during their talks in Hanoi on November 2 aspart of the French PM’s ongoing visit to Vietnam.
PM Phuc lauded the tourto Vietnam by PM Edouard Philippe, saying it is the second high-level visitbetween the two countries in 2018 after the France visit by Party GeneralSecretary Nguyen Phu Trong in March.
The two sides agreedto increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high level, whilepromoting the role of coordination and direction mechanisms for bilateralcooperation, and forging stronger partnership in politics, economy, defence,science-technology, culture, and education-training.
The two leadersunderscored that economic collaboration continues to be a priority in bilateralties, stressing the need to speed up major joint projects and foster therelationship between Vietnam and the European Union.
PM Edouard Philippe statedthat France supports the early signing and ratification of a free tradeagreement between Vietnam and the EU, underlining France’s commitment to maintainingdevelopment cooperation with Vietnam in the future.
Both sides concurredto promote collaboration in building e-government and modernising State administrativegovernance, which is a new and promising cooperation area.
They will encourageand create favourable conditions for businesses of both sides to enhance theireconomic and investment partnership in areas of France’s strength and Vietnam’sdemand such as infrastructure, energy, aviation-aerospace, health care,science-technology, communications, climate change response, and smart city.
They highlighted thesignificance of cooperation in education and training, including thedevelopment of the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi to aninternational-standard facility.
The two sides agreedto expand ties in culture, stressing the determination to turn culturalinstitutions of each country into centres for cultural cooperation andexchange, including the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France and the FrenchInstitute in Vietnam.
They shared the hopeto strengthen partnership in security and defence as well as increase visits ofFrench military ships to Vietnam, and support Vietnam in joining UNpeacekeeping operations.
The two PMs agreed to enhancecoordination in ensuring the success of the 11th conference on cooperationbetween Vietnamese and French localities scheduled for early April 2019 inToulouse, France.
They pledged to workclosely at multilateral forums, especially the UN and the Francophonie, whilesupporting each other in developing relations between France and Asia Pacificcountries as well as between Vietnam and EU members.
The two sides willalso promote collaboration in coping with global challenges, especially climatechange.
Both Vietnamese andFrench PMs stressed the significance of ensure peace, stability andstrengthening regional and international cooperation. They affirmed theircommitments to maintaining navigation and aviation freedom, and solvingdisputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures in line with internationallaw, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
The French PM showedhis hope to enhance the role of France in the Asia-Pacific region.
The same day, PM Phucand PM Edouard Philippe witnessed the signing of a number of agreements ofcooperation between the two countries in various areas, including training,e-government development, health care, climate change response, environmentalprotection, urban management, aviation, and energy.-VNA
VNA
