State President Lương Cường and French President Emmanuel Macron at the joint press conference on May 26 in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — State President Lương Cường and French President Emmanuel Macron held a joint press conference on Monday to announce the outcomes of their talks, which took place earlier the same day as part of the latter’s ongoing visit to Việt Nam.

At the conference, President Cường said that the visit demonstrates the strong desire and determination of both nations to bring the Việt Nam – France relations to a new high, describing his talks with the French leader as highly successful, conducted in the atmosphere of openness, sincerity, and mutual trust.

The leaders agreed on various orientations and measures to deepen the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries while exchanging notes on regional and international issues of mutual concern. They emphasised their growing strategic trust consolidated through the exchange of high-level delegations, particularly following the upgrade of the bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Besides, they committed to enhancing people-to-people exchange, bolstering cooperation between localities, and working towards organising the 13th Việt Nam – France Decentralised Cooperation Conference in France.

According to President Cường, amidst complicated global economic fluctuations, the two sides concurred that economic, trade, and development cooperation pillars continue to be important drivers the bilateral ties. They committed to close coordination to maintain and consolidate free trade, open markets for each other, and bring into full play the EU – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

General Director of the Việt Nam National Power Transmission Corporation (EVN NPT) Phạm Lê Phú and General Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) Rémy Rioux discuss the credit agreement to finance the Southern Power Transmission Grid Enhancement Project of the National Power Transmission Corporation. — VNA/VNS Photo

Việt Nam requested France to urge the European Commission to remove the “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood, expedite the ratification of the EU – Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement, and encourage French corporations and businesses to expand investment and joint ventures in strategic industries with high spillover effects like automobile and logistics.

President Cường stressed that both sides agreed to promote cooperation in defence – security based on the signed agreement, strengthen information exchange on strategic issues, and study expanding collaboration in defence industry, cybersecurity, and counter-terrorism efforts. Both sides recognised significant potential for development in traditional cooperation areas like science – technology, health care, and education – training within the new relationship framework. They agreed to bolster cooperation in areas where France has strengths like aerospace, nuclear energy, AI, digital transformation, and pharmaceuticals while promoting technology transfer and mastery.

Việt Nam asked for France’s continued support in high-quality human resources training, French language teaching in Việt Nam, and expansion of scholarship programmes for Vietnamese students. President Cuong also suggested the French Government to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to stabilise their lives, better integration, and contribute more to the socio-economic development in the host nation.

Both leaders emphasised the essential role of multilateralism and affirmed their shared commitment to promoting international peace and stability. They agreed to coordinate closely and support each other at international and regional forums, particularly the United Nations, ASEAN-EU, and the International Organisation of La Francophonie. Việt Nam and France stand ready to support the enhancement of the ties between Việt Nam and the EU as well as between ASEAN and France.

Stressing that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the comprehensive legal framework for all maritime activities and cooperation, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East. They supported resolving disputes through peaceful means based on international law and back efforts to achieve an effective, substantive Code of Conduct in the waters that complies with international law, particularly UNCLOS 1982.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bùi Thế Duy and French Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial Sovereignty and Digitalization Eric Lombard exchanged the Letter of Intent between the two ministries on cooperation in the field of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. — VNA/VNS Photo

He expressed his belief that President Macron’s state visit will be a motive to promote the Việt Nam – France to a new high, bringing practical benefits to the people of both nations while contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and the world.

For his part, President Macron expressed gratitude to the Vietnamese State and people for the warm reception during his state visit, which marks the first stop in his Southeast Asian tour. He underscored France's desire to become a leading partner in supporting Việt Nam's goal of becoming a developed nation by mid-century.

He spoke highly of the relations between the two countries, wishing that they will work together to handle challenges and develop their partnership to build a prosperous future.

Referring to France's efforts to promote ocean conservation and sustainable use of marine resources through the upcoming UN Ocean Conference in June, Macron expressed his hope for Việt Nam's active participation in agreements on marine biodiversity conservation.

The French President revealed that both sides signed a series of cooperation documents in various fields including space cooperation, satellite system construction, mining, high-speed rail development, energy, nuclear power, aviation, health care, transportation, and logistics.

Highlighting both nations’ commitment to promoting cooperation in culture and education-training, the French leader said they are the traditional areas of cooperation and viewed them as the bridge to connect the people of both sides.

After deciding to upgrade relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership late last year, making France the first EU country to have such a relationship with Việt Nam, a new page of history has truly been written by the two nations across all sectors, he stated, adding the elevation of the bilateral ties provides opportunities for deeper cooperation between France and Việt Nam, and between ASEAN and the EU. He expressed his desire to actively develop these cooperation areas with a shared vision of international order.

Following their talks, the two presidents witnessed the exchange of more than 10 bilateral cooperation documents between the two countries, including those on defence and security, archival work, justice, agriculture and the environment, transport, science and technology, peaceful use of nuclear energy, climate change adaptation, return of citizens, aerospace, civil aviation, power transmission, seaport use, and vaccine technology.

— VNA/VNS