French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a state visit to Việt Nam from May 25-27.

French Ambassador Olivier Brochet said the trip was expected to foster the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the fields of politics, economy, scientific research, education, culture, national defence, and pressing global challenges like climate change.

The visit, the first leg of President Macron’s Southeast Asia tour that includes Indonesia and Singapore, was part of France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, launched in 2018 to strengthen ties with regional partners. It would follow a trip to France eight months ago by Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, signaling robust progress in the bilateral relations and the solid framework of cooperation that the two countries have built together, Brochet told the press.

President Macron, accompanied by key ministers, including the Minister of the Economy and Finance, and the Minister of the Armed Forces, will meet with Vietnamese leaders to advance cooperation in economy, national defence-security. A significant agreement is expected between the French Development Agency and Việt Nam’s National Power Transmission Corporation to support a transmission line project, aligning with the Just Energy Transition Partnership to aid Việt Nam’s green energy goals.

Education and youth engagement are also priorities. President Macron will meet with students at the University of Science and Technology of Hà Nội, known as the Việt Nam-France University, and those enrolled in other French-affiliated courses, such as the management programme at the European Excellence in Management Education (CFVG) and the Việt Nam-France Excellent Engineer Training Programme (PFIEV). He will highlight the bilateral relationship and its future, with a particular emphasis on the role of young people and France’s support in research, education, and innovation.

Global issues will feature prominently, with discussions expected on Việt Nam’s attendance at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025.

Brochet said the visit would reaffirm their commitment to building a modern, dynamic, and structured partnership, one that respects the interests and sovereignty of each nation.

Asked about which cooperation areas should be deepened, he said France saw opportunities in energy, including nuclear energy; transport, and artificial intelligence, with French expertise potentially supporting Việt Nam’s high-speed railway project.

Reflecting on the past three decades of people-to-people exchanges, he said a steady flow of Vietnamese students educated in France had built a vital bridge between the two nations, one that Brochet described as a fundamental foundation that must be absolutely preserved.

Beyond showcasing French culture in Việt Nam, collaborative events have spurred the growth of Việt Nam’s cultural and creative industries, according to the ambassador. France’s support for the Huế Festival, a partnership spanning more than 20 years, exemplifies this commitment, as does the upcoming second Hà Nội Photography Festival, set to take place in the coming months.

A recent agreement among Việt Nam’s Sconnect Academy of Media Arts, the French Embassy, and Paris’s renowned Gobelins animation school signals further cultural collaboration.

Brochet also noted with pride the embassy’s role in securing Việt Nam’s pavilion at the 78th Cannes Film Festival this year, a milestone for Vietnamese cinema on the global stage. — VNS