On April 14, Vice-Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee - Nguyen Thi Hong had a meeting on Ho Chi Minh City - France multiple cooperation with Mr. Matthias Fekl, Minister of State in charge of Foreign Trade, Tourism Promotion, and overseas French people, under French Intenrational Development and Foreign Affairs. The Minister of State came to survey the practical cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and France. Expressing the pleasure to welcome Mr. Matthias Fekl and French delegation in the working visit in Ho Chi Minh City, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hong said that the Vietnam - France relationship is increasingly elevated, which is the condition for the two countries to continue the sustainable development in all fields. At present, there are many French enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City; yet, these enterprises have not exploited all the city's potentials. Ho Chi Minh City expects that there will be a conference between French enterprises and Ho Chi Minh City to profoundly understand about cooperation in many fields.
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hong stressed that Ho Chi Minh City concentrates on development of agricultural, educational and health fields. Over the time, Ho Chi Minh City received many supports from France in these fields. It is expected that in the time coming, France will keep supporting and sharing experiences on processing agricultural products after harvesting to get high quality and meet the demand of world export market. Mr. Matthias Fekl was so impressed by the development of Vietnam economy in general and the economy of Ho Chi Minh City in particular. He also said that the friendly relationship between two countries had been developed in many fields. In addition, cities in both countries had bilateral cultural and economic exchanges. In France, there are many young businesses wishing to understand and invest in Ho Chi Minh City. Underlining the cooperative potential between two sides, Mr. Matthias believed that in the time coming, with the support from Ho Chi Minh City's authority, there will be more French businesses in Ho Chi Minh City. Besides, many projects will be implemented effectively, contributing to the development of Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general.
At present, France ranks the 9th among foreign investors in Ho Chi Minh City. In terms of commerce, the export turnover between Ho Chi Minh City and France increased by 6% year on year. The city also welcomed about 100 thousland French tourists last year. In a conference on 40th anniversary of Vietnam - France Relation Report, Chairman of France - Vietnam Friendly Members of Parliament, Mr. Christian Poncelet highly appreciated the result of cooperation between the two countries in various fields such as politics, economy, culture, science, and engineering. As being a long-lasting friend of Vietnam, Mr. Poncelet confirmed that France was one of the first European countries supporting Vietnam reform in 1986. He stressed that Vietnam was playing an important part in Asia - Pacific, the gateway for EU and France to enhance cooperation with South East Asia; at the same time, France was the gateway for Vietnam to boost relations with EU. He also added with the 20-year development, France - Vietnam Parliamentarian Friendship with 50 members is one of the most dynamic parliamentarian groups in parliamentary diplomacy. The group had many practical activities such as support in Hue Festival, in restoration traditional ancient houses in Vietnam, participation in health cooperation project in Vietnam, such as center for heart support in Ho Chi Minh City...
In terms of economy, France is the leading partner of Vietnam with the bilateral trade turnover of up to US $3.7 billion, with more than 300 French business in Vietnam in all sectors, contributing to the development of economy in Vietnam and bilateral commercial exchange. France is the second bilateral investor in Vietnam on development assistance with US $3.14 billion, invests in fields of poverty reduction, climate change, and sustainable development. Vietnam - France relation is also enhanced in fields of education and culture. In terms of culture, there are many significant achievements.