The Japanese government announced a grant of US$1.38 million as non-refundable aid for nine projects in Vietnam on Friday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Hanoi, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Takio Yamada said these projects involve a wide range of fields, including health care, education, transport and environment, and will be carried out in a variety of communities across the country.

They comprise a project on cluster bomb disposal in central Quang Binh Province and a project to upgrade rehabilitation and vocational training equipment for northern Thai Binh Province’s Association for Agent Orange/dioxin Victims.

Projects on building schools, bridges, irrigation works and clean water supply stations in other provinces are also included in the package.

The scale of each project of non-refundable aid at the grassroots level is not large, but the projects are designed to bring key benefits to the maximum amount of people in these communities, according to the ambassador.

A total of 724 Japanese-funded projects have been implemented since 1992 with a total value of up to $64.5 million, he said.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange/dioxin Victims (VAVA), thanked the Japanese government for the assistance, saying it has brought practical benefits to many Agent Orange/dioxin victims and their descendants in recent years, the Vietnam News Agency quoted.

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Vietnam hopes to welcome French President Emmanuel Macron in 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during a meeting with French Minister for Foreign Trade, Attractiveness, and French Nationals Abroad Olivier Becht in Hanoi on Wednesday.

During their conversation, PM Chinh also conveyed the greetings of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to senior French leaders, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He expressed his wish to soon welcome President Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to Vietnam in 2023, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

The premier affirmed that the Vietnamese government attaches extreme importance to the strategic partnership with France.

He asked France to create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s exports, especially agricultural and aquatic products, and urged France to early ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) so as to facilitate equal and mutually benefiting investment relations between the two countries.

PM Chinh proposed that France push for the early removal of the EC’s IUU ‘yellow card’ against Vietnamese fishery products, in order to benefit French and EU consumers and ensure livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of laborers in Vietnam’s fishing industry.

Becht affirmed that French businesses have great interest in investment in Vietnam, and want to accelerate the implementation of key economic cooperation projects of the two countries, including the Nhon-Hanoi Station urban railway route in Hanoi.

The French official pledged to further promote collaboration with Vietnam in fields of France’s strength such as climate change response, urban transport infrastructure, healthcare, energy, aviation, and e-government.

Becht appreciated the role of the Vietnamese community in France, which he considers an important bridge connecting both countries.

He affirmed that the French government will continue to create favorable conditions for the community.

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Olivier Becht’s visit to Vietnam from February 28 to March 2 is one of many activities being held to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the strategic partnership between France and Vietnam.

The visit aims to strengthen cooperation between France and Vietnam, reaffirm France’s strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as strengthen France’s economic presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

“I am delighted to be in a country so dear to France to mark the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership,” Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, and French Nationals Abroad, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, wrote to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam.

“What a joy to be here in Vietnam,” Becht said.

This year will see a series of economic, cultural, and scientific events which will demonstrate the strong bond both countries share, he stated.

Promoting economic cooperation

“This relationship is based on our long-standing cultural and historical ties, embodied by French nationals of Vietnamese descent and French nationals living in Vietnam. 

It is also based on a close alignment between our respective local government bodies, with, for example, the next conference on decentralized cooperation in Hanoi this April.

Our institutional relations are solid. This was evident in the deep and congenial discussions enjoyed during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Paris in November 2021, as well as the visit to Hanoi of the President of the French Senate, Gérard Larcher, in December 2022.

There is room to improve our economic relationship. And that is what I have come to tell the Vietnamese authorities and other economic stakeholders with whom I will have the honor of meeting during my visit.

These include, among others, Vietnamese investors, who are aware of France’s economic attractiveness, and representatives from French businesses in the country, 300 of which are registered at the France-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry employing some 45,000 people, including subsidiaries of French groups, focusing on the Asian markets.”

Sharing common interests

“On Thursday I will be in Ho Chi Minh City, where I will take part in a major event, the Asia-Pacific Forum of the French Foreign Trade Advisers, along with 500 managers from companies across the region.

I will make clear France’s vision for relations across the region. We are a proud partner of ASEAN, which is essential to regional stability.

Strengthening our engagement with Vietnam is key to realizing our ambitions, as it is a critical Indo-Pacific and ASEAN country. The country is seeing remarkable growth that brings transformations: in 2022, the Vietnamese economy grew faster than at any point in the last quarter-century, driven by a strong industrial sector.

Our common interests extend beyond the Indo-Pacific. France has key expertise to support the myriad transitions Vietnam faces: energy, demographic, environmental, and digital.

During my visit, I look forward to affirming the great achievements of French companies in Vietnam. These are none better exemplified than by Sanofi, for example, in the health sector, which has been in Vietnam for 70 years and employs more than 1,000 people. I encourage ongoing projects, like Hanoi’s metro and wholesale market and the EDF gas-fired power plant in Son My 1, as well as a host of other exciting, related ventures.

I will not forget our 8,000 or so French citizens living in Vietnam, who have been through difficult times with the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to meeting with our elected consular representatives, representatives of French associations, and the pupils and teaching staff of the French Lycée in Hanoi. 

The French citizens in Vietnam are a vibrant and dynamic community, contributing actively to exchange and collaboration on economic, cultural, academic, and scientific fronts. Let us harness this potential and together realize a brighter common future.

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Olivier Becht’s visit to Vietnam from February 28 to March 2 is part of the activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between France and Vietnam.

The visit aims to strengthen cooperation between France and Vietnam, reaffirm France’s strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as strengthen France’s economic presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

On Tuesday, Becht met with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and visited urban railway line No. 3 in Hanoi. 

He was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, and vice-chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Duong Duc Tuan on Wednesday.

On Thursday, he will attend the Asia-Pacific Forum of the French Foreign Trade Advisers, meet the vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, and visit Sanofi Factory.