In an interview given to the People’s Army Newspaper on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral defense cooperation between Vietnam and France (August 1, 1991-2021), the French diplomat underscored the effective maintenance of the cooperation in military medicine, further collaboration in teaching French language for Vietnamese officers, and opening of training courses for Vietnamese officers at French military schools since 2003.
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French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery |
Regarding the cooperation in U.N. peacekeeping operations, the French ambassador highly praised Vietnam for sending troops to U.N. missions in two African countries which are Francophonie members. He said that France has many years of experience in the field, so it could share with Vietnam.
He also mentioned an E.U.-sponsored project that Vietnam is carrying out and France actively gets engaged in. “In the framework of this project, France has dispatched a senior officer to work full time at the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations to help Vietnam deploy peacekeepers in Francophone area.”
According to the French diplomat, the two countries will continue to maintain bilateral defense cooperation in traditional fields such as military medicine, hydrography, and U.N. peacekeeping operations. What should be also strengthened consists of defense industry, exchanges in strategic issues and environment, and French language training which is important to boosting bilateral cooperation in military medicine and U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Apart from development in bilateral defense ties, the French official also spoke highly of the economic cooperation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the pandemic has presented many obstacles, it cannot be a barrier to economic cooperation between the two countries, he said, adding that the two countries have ceaselessly promoted all economic cooperation activities.
He highly appreciated the implementation of the Vietnam - E.U. Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) because it has opened up more economic cooperation opportunities for the two countries. He also cited the then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s saying at the EVFTA signing ceremony that the agreement is like a large-scale, modern highway connecting the E.U. and Vietnam. It means that the agreement will benefit parties and help them stay closer to each other.
He also noted that France is willing to complete the signed projects, especially Hanoi metro line No.3, and boost trade relations between the two countries. The French diplomat also stressed that France has put forth a number of projects in energy, space, urban and airport planning, and especially pharmaceutical manufacturing. At present, many French pharmaceutical companies have built factories and provided products for Vietnam market.
Translated by Mai Huong