Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Hanoi on September 6, during which he stated t♒hat the Vietnamese Government will continue its efforts to foster partnership with France in all fields and make the ties deeper and more effective.

Expressing his delight at the growth of the Vietnam-France strategic partnership over the past years, the PM proposed that both sides focus on boosting cooperation in areas of France’s strengths including infrastructure building, advanced technology, energy, aerospace, health care and pharmaceuticals. Particularly, both sides should strengthen affiliation in technology transfer and training in satellite manufacturing, an area that the two countries are working together, he said. The two countries should also work more closely in sustainable development such as technologies in environment protection and green agriculture, he suggested, adding that Vietnam encourages French enterprises to invest in green projects in Vietnam. He also asked for France’s support during Vietnam’s implementation of the Paris Climate Conference (COP 21) commitments. Vietnam has risen from poverty to become a middle-income country, but it is still facing many challenges such as climate change, sea level rise, natural disasters, epidemics and environment pollution, he said, calling on France to continue providing ODA to Vietnam, especially in infrastructure, climate change and poverty reduction. The PM also suggested that the two sides further bolster their cooperation in trade and investment, towards the goal of doubling their two-way trade turnover from the modest 4.2 billion USD in 2015. At the same time, both sides should also enhance cooperation in culture, education, people-to-people contacts, as well as strengthening ties among localities. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc shared France ’s concern about terrorism and expressed sympathy to France over the great losses caused by terrorists. The Vietnamese Government leader asked that France support ASEAN’s stance in ensuring peace, stability, security, and maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea, as well as the settlement of East Sea issues through peaceful measures in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. On his part, President Francois Hollande affirmed that France is keen on further beef up cooperation with Vietnam in all fields, especially in politics, economy, trade, investment as well as climate change and sea level rise response. He said during this visit, he is being accompanied by many business leaders, who want to seek partnership and investment opportunities in Vietnam , which demonstrates the interest of French businesses in developing ties with Vietnam. Stressing that France always prioritises its economic partnership with Vietnam, he requested that the country create favourable conditions for French investment. At the same time, France is also keen on enhancing bilateral cooperation in science-technology, technology transfer, education and training, agriculture and pharmaceuticals, together with boosting cultural and people-to-people exchange, thus increasing mutual understanding between the two nations, he stated. He also underscored that his country will continue assisting Vietnam in the fields of the country’s demand, including coping with climate change and sea level rise and environmental protection.-VNA