For the Organization internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the participation in the 19th Francophonie Summit of Party and State leader To Lam continues to confirm Vietnam’s role as a key member of the Francophone community in Asia-Pacific as well as the country’s active and responsible engagement in activities of the Francophone community in particular and international community in general, helping consolidate and promote multilateralism, international cooperation and solidarity.
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Party General Secretary and State President To Lam |
Over the past years, the cooperative ties between Vietnam and OIF have developed fruitfully. In terms of politics and diplomacy, OIF treasures Vietnam’s role and contribution, considering the Southeast Asian country a model in socio-economic development and placing Vietnam at the center of Francophone cooperative activities in Asia-Pacific.
In economy and trade, with 88 member countries and territories, including 54 official member countries, a population of some 1.2 billion people, accounting for 16% of the gross domestic product and 20% of the world's trade market, OIF has much potential and room for boosting cooperation with Vietnam in agriculture, energy, and digitization/digital transformation. So far, Vietnam has had trade exchange with 44 out of 54 OIF’s official member countries. As of June this year, two-way trade between Vietnam and OIF member countries had reached USD 16.8 billion, up 12.15% year-on-year.
This is the first visit to France by a State President of Vietnam in the past 22 years with the aim of developing the Vietnam-France strategic partnership in an intensive and practical manner on the basis of the flourishing bilateral relations over the past five decades.
In terms of politics-diplomacy, the two countries have regularly maintained contacts and delegation exchanges. They have coordinated with and supported each other in international organizations such as the U.N., ASEM, ASEAN-E.U., and the Francophone community.
Trade-economic cooperation continues to be an important pillar in the two countries’ relationship. France is currently the fourth largest trading partner, the second biggest investor and the top ODA provider of Vietnam among E.U. members. Two-way trade has increased by 42% over the past 10 years, reaching USD 4.8 billion in 2023 and USD 2.96 billion in the first seven months of 2024. In addition, France has had a total registered capital of USD 3.93 billion in Vietnam and provided the country with USD 3.3 billion in preferential loans.
France always considers education and training cooperation a priority in its cooperative activities in Vietnam, focusing mainly on teaching and developing the French language. The French Government annually grants 80 scholarships to Vietnamese students to study master’ and doctoral degrees in France, aiming to help the country with high-quality personnel training in economic management, banking, finance, law, and new technology.
The development is also seen in the two countries’ cooperation in culture-tourism and cultural exchange. Each year, the French Government allocates about EUR 5 million for the cultural cooperation with Vietnam. France ranks 7th among the countries and territories with the largest investment in tourism in Vietnam, with 14 projects totally worth USD 188 million. Meanwhile, Vietnam identifies France as a key tourist market. The two sides successfully co-organized the Vietnam-France, France-Vietnam Year in each country to mark the 40th anniversary (1973-2013) and 50th anniversary (1973-2023) of the diplomatic ties and 10 years of the strategic partnership (2013-2023).
The two countries’ cooperation in science-technology, defense,-security, health and among their localities has been vibrant and increasingly strengthened and expanded. The Vietnamese community in France has about 350,000 people, which is the largest Vietnamese community in Europe, making contribution to the host country and having close connection with the homeland.
We believe that the participation in the 19th Francophonie Summit and the official visit to France by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam will be successful, contributing to promoting the Vietnam-OIF relations and the Vietnam-France strategic partnership intensively and practically, thereby continuing to affirm Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations.
Translated by Mai Huong