According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam, his spouse will pay an official visit to France at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. France is the second leg of the top leader’s September 7-12 trip to Europe, which also includes a State visit to Russia.

In an interview with Paris-based VOV correspondents ahead of the visit, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Trinh Duc Hai said Vietnam-France relations are experiencing one of their most dynamic and substantive periods of development.

According to the ambassador, the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in October 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Vietnam in May 2025 and subsequent high-level contacts demonstrate the determination of the two countries’ leaders to quickly translate the new framework into substantive cooperation.

The visit will provide an opportunity for the two countries’ top leaders to review the results of bilateral cooperation, while setting major orientations and identifying breakthrough areas for the next stage.

From a comprehensive strategic partnership to concrete cooperation

Ambassador Hai noted that the importance of the visit lies not only in maintaining high-level exchanges but also in turning political orientations into specific programmes and cooperation projects.

The two sides can promote cooperation in the economy, science and technology, innovation, green transition, energy, infrastructure, education and training, and defence and security, while strengthening coordination at multilateral forums.

He said Vietnam and France enjoy particularly favourable social and people-to-people foundations for expanding bilateral ties. Historical and cultural links, as well as cooperation in education, science, health care and people-to-people exchanges, have been nurtured over generations. France is also home to a Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin community of more than 300,000 people.

In education, training and science, longstanding links between the two countries continue to provide a foundation for cooperation in new fields. Vietnam can further leverage its network of partnerships with French research institutes, universities and other partners to train high-quality human resources, promote research and facilitate knowledge transfer.

These social and human foundations should be more closely connected with new development drivers, including digital technology, innovation and the training of human resources in key sectors, he stressed.

Moving from equipment purchases to technology partnerships

Ambassador Hai said France has strengths in aerospace, energy, nuclear technology, transport, healthcare, digital technology, artificial intelligence, high-tech agriculture and technologies supporting the green transition. These are also areas that align with Vietnam’s current development priorities.

Cooperation in the coming period should therefore move from simple trading and equipment supply towards long-term technology partnerships, with greater emphasis on knowledge transfer, human-resource training, joint research and development, building domestic technological capacity, and increasing the participation of Vietnamese businesses in the value chains of French and European corporations.

The areas highlighted by the ambassador include digital technology and AI, aerospace and satellites, clean and new energy, urban transport and railways, biotechnology, healthcare, high-tech agriculture, and resource and environmental management.

The goal, according to the ambassador, is not simply to acquire advanced technologies but, more importantly, to gradually strengthen Vietnam’s capacity to research, master, adapt and develop technologies.

Space summit participation broadens multilateral engagement

As part of the visit to France, Party General Secretary and President To Lam will attend the International Space Summit in Paris.

Ambassador Hai said the participation goes beyond the issue of space technology. It will give Vietnam an opportunity to proactively join discussions and contribute to emerging issues in global governance, as outer space is becoming increasingly important to development, security and socio-economic life.

According to the ambassador, participation in the forum also reflects Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification, together with proactive and active international integration. Vietnam is ready to engage early in discussions and contribute to the development of principles and frameworks for cooperation in emerging areas of international affairs.

Vietnam supports the peaceful use of outer space for sustainable development, in accordance with international law and the central role of the United Nations, while attaching importance to equitable access to space opportunities, particularly for developing countries.

From the perspective of bilateral relations, the visit will therefore serve both to consolidate political trust and to open opportunities for expanding the Vietnam-France comprehensive strategic partnership into new areas of cooperation.

Ambassador Hai underscored that to generate fresh impetus for bilateral ties, the two countries need to combine the foundations built over generations with new thinking on cooperation, new technologies and new development drivers, making their partnership increasingly substantive, effective and sustainable.