French Navy ship Prairial and 93 crew members at a photo session with Đà Nẵng city officials during a welcome ceremony at Tiên Sa Port. The ship is paying a six-day visit to the city. – Photo courtesy of Lê Lâm

ĐÀ NẴNG – French Navy ship Prairial and 93 crew members began a friendly six-day visit to the central city of Đà Nẵng, a progressive move to help boost the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Việt Nam and France.

The crew of the French frigate will spend their time on sport exchanges and visits to the city’s People’s Committee, Military Zone 5, Vietnamese Navy Zone 3 and other local destinations.

Ship commander Lieutenant Colonel Wallerand Faivre D'Arcier said that the Đà Nẵng visit is not only a brief respite for crew members, but also an activity to help boost cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

The commander expressed his best wishes for a swift recovery after the recent flooding disaster that hit the city and other parts of central Việt Nam.

Đà Nẵng and French partners have been promoting cooperation programmes in culture, education and investment over the past few decades.

The central city and the French city of Le Havre in October signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of cooperation and friendship.

France's Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (the Francophone University Association, or AUF) and the city have also previously signed a framework agreement on digital workforce training. 

AUF, in cooperation with University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in Nice, France as well as Đà Nẵng University, also agreed terms for sharing scientific research and establishing student exchanges on subjects including technology transfer, business management, water management and embedded software systems.

The French Institute has already opened offices in Đà Nẵng and Huế to promote culture, education and people-to-people exchanges.

To date, French businesses have invested in 34 projects in Đà Nẵng, with a total investment capital of US$25 million. – VNS