French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe attended a ceremony on Sunday to open a French medical centre in HCM City as part of his official visit to Việt Nam. – VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ

HÀ NỘI – French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe attended a ceremony on Sunday to open a French medical centre in HCM City as part of his official visit to Việt Nam.

The event was part of the activities to mark the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and five years of strategic partnership between Việt Nam and France.

In his remarks, the French PM expressed his delight at the operation of the medical centre, saying that besides providing medical examinations and treatment, the centre would help boost medical and pharmaceutical training for Vietnamese doctors.

Collaboration between Vietnamese and French doctors at the centre would offer opportunities for both sides to enhance experience sharing and human resources training to improve public healthcare, he added.

According to Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến, the ministry and the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health had inked a co-operation programme in the framework of the French PM’s visit, which covered training, support for infectious disease prevention, and human resources development.

The programme was a good opportunity for Vietnamese doctors and managers to improve their expertise in the public health sector and effectively supervise funding for the sector, she underlined.

Since 1993, generations of Vietnamese medical officials who received training in France have become leading experts in the healthcare sector.

The signing of various inter-government agreements in the field had formed a foundation for exchange activities between the two countries, contributing to developing Việt Nam’s medical system, especially in cardiovascular, cancer, anesthesia, neonatology, maternity and public health treatment.

Meeting in Hà Nội

Chairman of Hà Nội’s People’s Committee Nguyễn Đức Chung thanked France for providing ODA for Hà Nội to carry out projects in cultural preservation, environmental treatment and infrastructure, including urban railways, and asked for more ODA loans to develop transport infrastructure.  

Chung made the request during a meeting with Philippe on Saturday.

He informed the French PM about Hà Nội’s co-operation with French enterprises and localities. At present, 102 French investors are running projects in Hà Nội with total capital of nearly EUR300 million.

The capital city has signed twin agreements with Ile-de-France and Toulouse, under which the sides have worked together in culture, tourism and medical human resources.  

Hà Nội has also engaged in medical co-operation with Paris, and conducted several joint schemes with the French Development Agency for the preservation of cultural heritage and the Old Quarter, waste treatment, and in fighting environmental pollution and adapting to climate change. 

The Hà Nội leader took the occasion to suggest that Hà Nội students be allowed to study at the Lycée Français Alexandre Yersin. He also proposed partnerships in digitalizing databases and building e-Government and smart city systems.  

The French PM shared his admiration of Hà Nội’s efforts to preserve its cultural values. He affirmed that Hà Nội faced great challenges in development, as it has a big population.

France had many firms that excelled in urban management so the two sides could co-operate in this field, he said, expressing his belief that Hà Nội would be the meeting point for big projects between France and Việt Nam. 

The PM pledged to do his best to support the co-operation between Hà Nội and French localities. Following the meeting, the French PM took a walk on the pedestrian street around Hoàn Kiếm Lake and visited the Temple of Literature. 

Earlier in the day, PM Édouard Philippe and his entourage made a trip to the northern province of Điện Biên, where he visited the historic site of the Điện Biên Phủ battlefield, and laid a wreath at the local cemetery for fallen soldiers. 

On Saturday morning, the French PM and Chung cut the ribbon to open a new facility at the Lycée Français Alexandre Yersin in Hà Nội’s Long Biên District. The French international school is under the purview of the Agency for French Education Abroad.  – VNS