PARIS — National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân met French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe yesterday as part of her ongoing visit to France.

The Vietnamese NA leader said her visit – the next in a series of high-level visits by leaders of the two countries, including the France visit of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng and the Việt Nam visit of PM Edouard Philippe in 2018 – showed the sound relationship between the two countries and would open up new co-operation prospects in economics, defence, culture, and education.

She said following the PM’s visit, many French firms had launched investment and business in Việt Nam.

Newly-established airline Bamboo Airways is negotiating with Airbus on aircraft purchases, while Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air will receive their airplanes from Airbus on April 3, and FPT Group will soon be opening a representative office in Toulouse, according to the Vietnamese leader.

She said thanks to regular visits of Vietnamese and French leaders, as well as the promotion of political-diplomatic co-operation, new economic partnership opportunities had opened for the two countries.

The top legislator stressed Việt Nam paid great attention to co-operation with France in Europe.

In her meetings with leaders of the Senate and National Assembly of France, she proposed the French parliament urge the European Parliament to soon ratify the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

PM Philippe conveyed his delight that the business communities of Viet Nam and France had fostered links.

He said that during his 2018 visit, he discovered Vietnamese and French firms shared the same wish to partner with each other.

Along with aviation, Việt Nam was interested in co-operation in the satellite industry, the French PM said, adding that French businesses, with strength in technology and experience, could be good partners in the field.

Noting the Việt Nam-France joint project to build metro line No.3 in Hà Nội was progressing, he said that 2019 was an important stage for the project.

The French Space in HCM City would be a symbol of the Việt Nam-France relations, he said, expressing his hope that the work would be constructed soon.

Regarding the EVFTA, he affirmed that France would support Việt Nam and hopes the deal would be signed and ratified soon.

NA Chairwoman Ngân said the Vietnamese side would speed up procedures so the French Space in HCM City would be implemented soon. – VNS