Speaking to Viet Nam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Paris ahead of the visit, Nam said the trip demonstrates that France is truly a special partner of Viet Nam in Europe. France can serve as a gateway for Viet Nam to access the European Union (E.U.), while Viet Nam can be France’s entry point for deeper engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
    |
 |
|
Party General Secretary To Lam (right) receives AAFV Chairman Nguyen Hai Nam during his visit to France in 2024. |
According to him, Viet Nam-France relations rest on longstanding historical ties, reflected in the vitality of the Vietnamese community in France, the largest in Europe and one of the largest overseas Vietnamese communities globally across generations.
Yet economic exchanges remain disproportionate to the depth of historical and people-to-people ties, Nam said, leaving considerable room to expand cooperation in fashion, transport, technology and science.
He underscored the strategic and geopolitical significance of the upgraded partnership, noting Viet Nam's open foreign policy of dialogue with all partners bears similarities to France's diplomatic tradition that took shape under President Charles de Gaulle and continued under President François Mitterrand.
Those similarities carry weight amid current international challenges, with protecting international bodies and promoting multilateralism being shared priorities for Hanoi and Paris, Nam said.
Beyond strategic ties, economy, culture and sports also offer promise. Viet Nam can sharpen its global position by leveraging soft power to create more space for cooperation with France, with youth connections critical to building a long-term foundation.
Citing the France-Germany experience, he said university exchanges were essential to rebuilding relations after World War II. Viet Nam and France could similarly inject momentum into university exchanges, potentially studying mechanisms like the Franco-German Youth Office.
Such mechanisms could forge lasting ties between Vietnamese and French youth while renewing the two countries' special historical bonds for future generations, he said.
Culture and arts also offer an effective channel to connect young people, Nam said, urging joint projects in music and dance that resonate strongly with younger audiences.
He proposed developing V-pop's international reach using K-pop's growth model, bringing together Vietnamese and French artists, creators and young talent.
Such projects would boost Vietnamese culture's visibility in France, bring French culture closer to Vietnamese audiences, and project a modern, dynamic image of bilateral cooperation to younger generations, he added.
Source: VNA