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President Tô Lâm and French Counterpart Emmanuel Macron Hold Talks

8 October, 2024

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes General Secretary and President To Lam. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

According to VNA’s special reporter, at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, General Secretary and President To Lam paid an official visit to France from October 6-7.

After the grand welcoming ceremony on October 7, local time, at the Elysee Palace, Paris, the General Secretary and President To Lam held talks with President Emmanuel Macron.

The General Secretary and President To Lam expressed his gratitude for the warm, respectful, and thoughtful reception by the French state, government, and National Assembly, as well as President Macron, for the Vietnamese delegation. He affirmed that Vietnam always values the Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership. He congratulated France and President Macron on the successful organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and especially the 19th Francophonie Summit (October 2024), which contributed to affirming France’s important role and position on the international stage.

For his part, President Macron once again congratulated the General Secretary and President To Lam on his election to the new position. He emphasized that this was the first official visit to France by a Vietnamese head of state in 22 years and affirmed the upgrade of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, in line with the cooperation framework and the desires of both countries. He thanked Vietnam for its participation in the Francophonie Summit and related events such as the Francotech Forum and the Francophonie Village.

President Macron expressed his condolences for the losses caused by Storm Yagi and affirmed France’s support for Vietnam in overcoming its consequences.

In a trustworthy and candid atmosphere, the General Secretary and President To Lam and President Macron comprehensively exchanged views on each country’s economic and social situation, bilateral cooperation, and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The two leaders expressed their pleasure at the positive developments in the relationship between the two countries, especially in politics, diplomacy, security, defense, trade, and investment. They agreed to enhance exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, through Party, State, Government, and National Assembly channels.

General Secretary and President To Lam holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

The two leaders agreed to announce the upgrade of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and identified major orientations and measures to deepen the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework, making it more practical and suitable for the new context.

With this decision, France becomes the first country in the EU to have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam.

The two sides assessed that security and defense cooperation is one of the important pillars and agreed to effectively implement the signed cooperation agreements, soon organize the Security and Defense Strategic Dialogue, coordinate and support in officer training, share experiences in crime prevention and combat, and support each other at regional and global security forums.

The General Secretary and President To Lam appreciated the visit of the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, to Vietnam on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, which demonstrated a spirit of respect for history and a willingness to ‘put the past behind’ and look towards the future.

Regarding economic and trade relations, the two sides positively evaluated the cooperation between the ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries in this field. They agreed to continue promoting preferential loans and ODA for Vietnam and encourage agencies and businesses from both countries to effectively implement the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The General Secretary and President To Lam requested that France soon complete the process of ratifying the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in sustainable fisheries development and asked the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the “yellow card” for Vietnamese seafood.

President Macron affirmed that the EVFTA is an important driving force for the economic and trade relations between the two sides. He stated that he would soon propose that the French Parliament approve the EVIPA. The French President appreciated Vietnam’s commitment to the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and green transformation.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas where France has strengths and potential, such as infrastructure, aerospace, science and technology, renewable energy, and hydrogen energy.

Recognizing the positive results of cooperation in science and technology, the two sides agreed to enhance collaboration in new fields such as aerospace, artificial intelligence, and airport infrastructure.

In the field of healthcare and education, the two sides agreed to promote the training of high-quality human resources, continue to create conditions for Vietnamese students to study in France with more scholarships, and encourage people from both countries to participate in each other’s major cultural events.

Regarding agricultural cooperation, the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in ecological and circular agriculture and tripartite cooperation between Vietnam, France, and Southern countries to ensure global food security.

President Macron welcomed Vietnam’s efforts in responding to climate change. The General Secretary and President To Lam appreciated France’s pioneering and leading role in the fight against climate change and wished to continue cooperating on ecosystem-based development and enhancing the resilience of cities and coastal areas, especially the Mekong Delta, in a harmonious manner.

President Macron appreciated the role of the Vietnamese community in France, considering them an important bridge between the two countries, and affirmed that he would continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live and work in France.

On multilateral cooperation, the two sides affirmed ASEAN’s central role in the region. They committed to continue promoting France-ASEAN relations and EU-ASEAN relations and to support each other at multilateral forums and international organizations such as ASEM, the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, Francophonie, and the United Nations.

On regional and international issues, President Macron emphasized that France highly values Vietnam’s views on ending violence, de-escalating tensions, and calling on all parties to resolve conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other regions through peaceful means and in accordance with international law.

On the South China Sea issue, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight, and resolving disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

On this occasion, the General Secretary and President To Lam invited President Macron to visit Vietnam. President Macron gladly accepted the invitation and agreed to visit Vietnam at a suitable time.

During the visit, several cooperation documents in the fields of diplomacy, culture, education, transportation, interior, and others were signed by the relevant ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries.

Nguyen Hong Diep