Hanoi (VNA)ඣ – PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh has affirmed that Vietnam always considers France an importantpartner in its foreign policy.

During a reception in Hanoi onSeptember 22 for French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery, PM Chinh once again thanked the French Government andpeople for their timely donation of COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies to Vietnam. Amid the current complicated developments of the pandemic, the PM suggested France continue donating, lending and ceding COVID-19 vaccines and transfer COVID-19 vaccine and treatment medicine production technologies to Vietnam, helping the country improve the capacity of its healthcare system and develop its pharmaceutical industry.Toward the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary ofstrategic partnership in 2030, PM Chinh expressed his wish that the two countrieswould work closely together to deepen and develop the strategic partnership moreeffectively, especially in the exchange of delegations at all levels, improvingthe efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms and accelerating important projectsand projects that see the participation of major groups such as Airbus, Total and EDF.

Describing Vietnam as an importantpartner of France in Southeast Asian and a bridge to promote the France-ASEAN developmentpartnership as well as the European Union-ASEAN ties, Warnery hoped that France's relations with Vietnam will be strengthened more practically and effectively. France will coordinate closely with Vietnam in regional and global issues of sharedconcern, he said.

The ambassador affirmed that a number of French major enterprises and groups such as Airbus, Thales, EDF, Total and Air Liquide want to invest in Vietnam, especially in aerospace,infrastructure, renewable energy, climate change response and high technology. He promised to work closely with French agencies to speed up the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), seek ways to donate more COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam in the near future,and urge the European Commission to soon remove its “yellow card” warning againstVietnam’s seafood. Both sides shared a view thatthe Vietnam-France relationship within multilateral frameworks has beenincreasingly tightened and agreed to enhance coordination in the United Nationspeacekeeping missions in French-speaking countries. On the East Sea issue, Warnery affirmedthat France wants to maintain peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, settle disputes via peaceful measures  in line withinternational law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On the occasion, PM Chinh asked the diplomatto convey his invitation to French PM Jean Castex to visit Vietnam./.