Paris (VNA)♋ – A working visit to Toulouse by Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang from June 23–25 has laid important groundwork for expanding multi-sector cooperation between Vietnam and the Occitanie region.

The visit took place just one month after French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic trip to Vietnam, underscoring the momentum in bilateral ties. Hosting a reception for the Vietnamese ambassador, Deputy Mayor of Toulouse Jean-Claude Dardelet emphasised that France and Vietnam have important historical connections while Toulouse, one of the fastest-growing cities in France, has maintained a special relationship with Hanoi since 1970s. Named “France’s most attractive city” for two consecutive years, Toulouse is bolstering its economic diplomacy and international connections. As Europe’s aerospace hub, Toulouse serves as a vital gateway for France–Vietnam cooperation. It is also home to France’s second-largest higher education network, including 10 engineering schools specialising in aerospace, digital technology, and health care. He said educational exchanges with Vietnam have flourished, particularly through architecture programmes between Hanoi and the Toulouse School of Architecture. Dardelet noted that many Vietnamese students are currently studying in Toulouse, and French students are also interning in Vietnam, highlighting a foundation for high-quality human resources development.

Climate change cooperation was another focus of the visit. Toulouse hosts Mercator Océan, the European ocean research organisation within the multi-billion-euro Copernicus Programme. As Vietnam grapples with rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion in regions like the Mekong Delta and Ha Long Bay, collaboration in oceanic science holds critical significance for food security and sustainable development. Another highlight of Toulouse–Vietnam cooperation is heritage preservation. Over the past five years, with support from the French Development Agency (AFD), Toulouse has helped Hanoi conserve two ancient citadels and develop the 36 Streets walking zone. Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc, who has visited Vietnam twice, praised the country’s dynamism, saying that Vietnam is one of the most vibrant countries in the region, with a population of over 100 million and impressive economic growth. During his visit, Ambassador Thang also met with local leaders, scholars, and business representatives at an event organised by the North-South economic and cultural development agency. The event drew nearly 100 participants from fields such as industry, trade, health care, and higher education. The agency’s President Gilbert Salinas expressed his desire to serve as a bridge in strengthening France-Vietnam cooperation across sectors aligned with both countries’ capacities and needs. For his part, Thang emphasised the deep and evolving ties between the two countries, noting that Vietnam–France relations are shaped by both historical and modern dynamics. The cooperation has been further strengthened through recent high-level visits and exchanges, as well as the desire of local partners to explore more of the potential in areas where they have strengths, including training, health care, and high technology. Highlighting Vietnam’s development over the past 50 years and its 2045 goal of becoming a fully industrialised country, the ambassador outlined key national priorities including technology, industrialisation, high-speed rail infrastructure, particularly express railway, renewable and clean energy, and nuclear energy. These are sectors with strong potential collaboration with France and Toulouse in particular. Thang also had a working session with Airbus, headquartered in Toulouse. The trip coincided with VietJet’s announcement of an additional order of 20 A330neo aircraft, bringing its total to 40, making it the largest global customer of this aircraft model. On this occasion, Airbus also introduced satellite and space technology projects, suggesting new cooperation opportunities in high technology, especially when Vietnam is developing digital transformation and Industry 4.0 strategies. At Loft Orbital, a space startup based in both Toulouse and San Francisco, Thang explored potential technology cooperation. Frédéric Cristini, the company’s Commercial Director, introduced its flexible, cost-effective satellite services with the slogan “Make Space Simple.” He noted that such solutions could enable countries like Vietnam to access satellite capabilities without massive upfront investment. He said this is an important opportunity for Vietnam to improve capacity in climate response, ocean resource management, and Earth observation./.