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French Consul General in HCMC Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser |
In 2023, France and Vietnam celebrate two anniversaries including the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam (1973-2023) and the tenth anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries. French Consul General in HCMC Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser had a talk with Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper about this event.
Vietnam is an important trading partner of France, said French Consul General in HCMC Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser as France and Vietnam have built a sustainable partnership in the economic field, especially in infrastructure, transportation, energy, and space technology for a long time.
To mark this half-century of diplomatic relations, the French and Vietnamese authorities held a nationwide contest and jointly selected a logo that combines the number 50 with the symbols of each country such as the Eiffel Tower of France and the Vietnamese Ao Dai on the flags of each country, said the female consular.
She disclosed that this celebration carries the slogan ‘Sharing Culture’, which will be displayed throughout the year. This logo and slogan were officially announced by Mr. Gérard Larcher, President of the French Senate and Mr. Vuong Dinh Hue, President of the National Assembly of Vietnam.
In November 2021, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid an official visit to France. At the time the Covid-19 pandemic ended in the Southeast Asian country, exchanges between the two sides were quickly restored along with many high-level discussions, especially the official visit to Vietnam in December 2022 by the President of French Senate Gérard Larcher, said French Consul Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser.
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Ms. Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser attends the graduation ceremony at Thu Duc College of Technology |
According to Ms. Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser, Vietnam is an attractive market; thereby, it has been attracting more and more investment from French enterprises. Subsequently, by the end of 2021, France ranked third among European countries with investment capital in Vietnam. Many large Vietnamese enterprises, such as VinFast, have displayed their products in France. These investments have contributed to the continued growth of trade relations between the two countries.
For a long time, France and Vietnam have built a sustainable partnership in the economic field, especially in infrastructure, transportation, energy, or space technology. Vietnam is a market attracting more and more investment from French enterprises; by the end of 2021, France ranked 3rd among European countries with investment capital in Vietnam. Moreover, many large Vietnamese enterprises, such as VinFast, displayed their products in France. These investments have contributed to the continued growth of trade relations between the two countries.
This trend will be further increased when the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam is fully implemented. The vitality of the economic partnership will be demonstrated through the many events organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In March 2023, the Regional Forum of French Foreign Trade Advisors will take place in Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of nearly 450 French businesses and officials.
The year 2023 is also marked by the event celebrating the 30th anniversary of legal cooperation and renewing the cooperation framework with Vietnam. Through the institution "Vietnam-France Law House" established in 1993, France has accompanied Vietnam in the judicial reform process until 2012. Many French jurists such as the most famous of which is Professor Michel Grimaldi made many contributions to the compilation of Vietnam's 1995 Civil Code as well as its subsequent two amendments in 2005 and 2015.
The Institute of Research for Development (IRD), the Center for International Cooperation on Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), or French School of Asian Studies), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) all have set up offices in Vietnam and mainly operated in priority areas such as energy transition and health, through the "One Health" approach.
France is also supporting Vietnam in achieving its sustainable development goals, focusing on urban transport and climate change. The French Development Agency (AFD) is implementing many projects to reduce the impact of climate change, and in collaboration with Vietnamese authorities and EVN (Electricity of Vietnam), on the issue of the energy transition. The announcement of the signing of the Fair Energy Transition Agreement with Vietnam, at the EU - ASEAN Summit in December 2022, shows the strengthening of cooperation in this area, through the new commitments of AFD and French enterprises in the field of renewable energy in Vietnam.
Over the past 30 years, more than 3,000 Vietnamese doctors and nurses have practiced in French hospitals. Today, these former resident doctors hold important positions in Vietnamese universities and hospitals. It is hoped that many young Vietnamese doctors will continue to practice in France.
In 2023, the consulate will introduce the image of contemporary France, culture, language, and technology to more young Vietnamese people. France has six of the best vocational schools in the fields of animation and video games, which attract young people from both countries. Many Vietnamese primary and secondary schools have been teaching French programs, and each year, nearly 6,000 Vietnamese students study abroad in France. The French government has provided scholarships to dozens of Vietnamese international students through high-quality scholarship programs for master's and doctoral degrees.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, France used to welcome nearly 90 million tourists a year, but only about 30,000 Vietnamese tourists.
The French Embassy in Vietnam, the French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and all employees in Vietnam wished to show the richness of the two side partnership on this anniversary, through various events in Vietnam. This program also covers the diplomatic relations between the twin localities, especially the relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and Lyon, a large city in Southeast France. A series of events will be implemented in the southern metropolis to celebrate food, fashion and design. She revealed that a light and sound show scheduled to take place at the Imperial Citadel of Hue will be the perfect closing event for this memorable year.
Consular Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser said that she is very pleased to join the staff of the Consulate General, the Institute of France (Institut français) in Ho Chi Minh City and the French Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (Business France) to contribute to the success of this series of events. She added that the two countries will continue to get to know each other in 2023 and she wants to discover new street corners, new culinary specialties and especially meet more Vietnamese friends.
