At noon on May 26, receiving President Emmanuel Macron at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, General Secretary To Lam expressed his pleasure at meeting President Macron again in Vietnam after his official visit to France in October 2024. This visit of the French President is of great significance, affirming the strong determination of both sides in implementing specific results of the Vietnam - France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
President Macron expressed his pleasure at his first State visit to Vietnam, and emphasized that the relationship between the two countries has many special features, has gone through many different stages in history and is now built on the foundation of trust and mutual respect.
At the meeting, the two leaders had a comprehensive discussion on all aspects of bilateral cooperation, assessed the outstanding progress achieved, especially the exchange of high-level delegations, mutual support at international and regional forums, and promoted the signing of many cooperation agreements in many fields.
Previously, on the morning of May 26, President Luong Cuong and his wife presided over a solemn welcoming ceremony for French President Macron and his wife. The two leaders then held talks and agreed to promote comprehensive cooperation, determined to bring the Vietnam - France relationship to new heights.
President Luong Cuong emphasized that this is the first high-level delegation exchange since the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of General Secretary and President To Lam in October 2024, affirming the desire and determination of both sides in bringing the Vietnam - France relationship to a new height.
President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on directions and measures to promote multifaceted cooperation, agreed that the pillar of economic, trade and development cooperation will continue to be an important driving force, committed to close coordination to maintain and strengthen trade freedom, further open up markets for each other and continue to effectively implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement.
The two leaders said that cooperation in traditional fields such as science and technology, healthcare, education and training still has a lot of room for development in the new context of relations, and agreed to strongly promote cooperation in areas where France has strengths such as aerospace, energy, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, pharmaceuticals, technology transfer, and at the same time expand cooperation in the defense industry, cyber security, etc.
After talks at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron witnessed ministries, branches and businesses of the two countries exchanging bilateral cooperation documents and meeting with the press.
After more than 50 years of establishing relations, the Vietnam - France relationship has been continuously strengthened and expanded in many fields. The relationship between the two countries has been raised to a new height when upgrading to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the occasion of General Secretary and President To Lam's official visit to the French Republic and attending the 19th Francophone Summit held in France in October 2024.
This milestone has made France the first country in the European Union (EU) to have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam, and this upgrade has created an important foundation for promoting the continued strong, profound and effective development of relations between the two countries.
