HÀ NỘI — French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will pay an official visit to Việt Nam from November 2-4 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Việt Nam and France set up diplomatic ties on April 12, 1973. Overcoming ups and downs in history, bilateral relations have developed well over the past 45 years, especially since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2013.

In the past years, both sides have maintained the exchange of high-level delegations. Particularly, a visit to France by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng in March 2018 has created a strong driving force for the development of bilateral ties in the fields of politics, economy, culture, education, healthcare and national defence.

During the visit, made at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, the two sides signed a series of important cooperation documents on defence, justice, space technology, intellectual property, climate change response and tourism, along with economic contracts worth tens of billions of US dollar.

Bilateral trade between Việt Nam and France has seen positive growth, with Việt Nam having enjoyed a continuous trade surplus since 2010, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In 2017, the two-way trade value exceeded $4.6 billion, up 11.6 per cent from 2016. The figure included $3.3 billion worth of Vietnamese exports to France and $1.3 billion worth of imports from the European country, both increasing by over 11 per cent year on year.

France is an important European partner of Việt Nam. It also respects Việt Nam’s stature and contributions to peace, stability and development in the region and the world. Việt Nam’s membership of the ASEAN Economic Community and many free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), expected to take effect in the near future, will bring new cooperation opportunities for both countries. — VNS