PM’s visit to France hoped to deepen bilateral friendship, cooperation in new phase

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s working trip to France from June 7-11, his first to the European country since Vietnam and France upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2024, is expected to help deepen the bilateral relations in the new stage.

While in France, the Government leader is scheduled to attend the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) in Nice and hold bilateral activities.

Political-diplomatic relations becoming increasingly substantive

Vietnam and France officially established their diplomatic relations on April 12, 1973. Over the past 50 years, the bilateral relationship has marked many significant milestones in their journey of cooperation and development.

Since the upgrade to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the exchange of delegations at all levels between the two countries has significantly increased. Within just six months since the upgrade, there were 10 French delegations visiting Vietnam, including four governmental and ministerial-level and six business delegations representing France’s leading sectors, most recently the state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse from May 25-27.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the French Communist Party (PCF) share a long-standing and close-knit traditional relationship. This strong bond is rooted in a solid foundation, as Vietnam’s late President Ho Chi Minh was one of the founding members of the PCF.

The two countries have also maintained various dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, such as the Strategic Dialogue on Security and Defence, the Annual High-Level Economic Dialogue, decentralised cooperation conferences, political consultations, and maritime dialogues.

They have shared many common views on regional and international issues, supported multilateralism, and closely coordinated in international organisations such as the United Nations, the ASEAN-EU framework, and the Francophone community.

Economic and trade cooperation serves as pillar of bilateral relations

France is currently Vietnam’s fifth-largest trading partner, the second-largest investor, and the largest bilateral ODA donor in the European Union. From 1993 to 2022, France granted and provided Vietnam with preferential loans totalling 16.7 billion EUR (18.8 billion USD), averaging around 100 million EUR per year, focusing on key areas such as infrastructure, technology transfer, agriculture, green industry, and finance.

Bilateral trade turnover reached 5.42 billion USD in 2024, and 1.79 billion USD in the first four months of 2025. The two countries are effectively cooperating to capitalise on the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which has helped Vietnamese goods strengthen their position in the European market while opening wider access to the French market.

In terms of investment, as of May 2025, France had 700 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of 3.95 billion USD, ranking 16th out of 147 countries and territories pouring money into Vietnam. French direct investment is primarily focused on sectors such as information and communications, manufacturing and processing industries, and the production and distribution of electricity, gas, and water.

Conversely, Vietnam has 20 investment projects in France with total registered capital of 38.93 million USD.

Locality-to-locality cooperation has continued to flourish, with preparations underway for the 13th Vietnam–France Decentralised Cooperation Conference, expected to be held in France in 2026.

There are currently around 350,000 Vietnamese people living in France who have made important contributions to developing the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a better and more substantive manner.

Building on the growing political trust between the two countries, the working visit by PM Chinh this time holds significant importance. According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, his bilateral engagements in France will concretise the major orientations of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as the Joint Statement issued during the current state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, opening up a new phase of multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and France.

Through this trip, Vietnam hopes to expand cooperation with France in emerging fields such as nuclear energy, science and technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence, in line with the Politburo’s Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, Hang said./.