France-Vietnam Forward 2026 held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 15. Photo: CCIFV

Rather than focusing solely on sector-specific discussions, the event provides a space for businesses, startups, investors, public-sector representatives, and educational institutions to meet, exchange insights on practical needs and explore cooperation opportunities across multiple sectors.

France-Vietnam Forward 2026 has two key activities: French Tech Summit, focusing on technology and innovation; and Job & Education Fair, connecting talent with businesses and educational institutions.

The French Tech Summit brings together experts and businesses to discuss the application of technology across five focus sectors: transportation, industry, construction, health, and fintech.

Topics range from the future of rail infrastructure, industrial transformation and sustainable construction to digital health and fintech, highlighting the potential for technology and innovation to address specific development needs.

The programme features businesses and organisations including VNVC, FPT Corporation, Ekino, Serdao, Renova Cloud, Schneider Electric Vietnam & Cambodia, Thales Vietnam, Aden Vietnam, SHB Bank and Ledger Enterprise.

Alongside the panel discussions, ZEBOX Challenge for Impact, announced its winning startup, creating further opportunities for startup solutions to connect with businesses and partners across the ecosystem.

According to Thibaut Giroux, chairman of French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (CCIFV), the challenge now is not simply to establish connections between the two countries' business communities, but to turn those connections into tangible opportunities for cooperation.

“Businesses need more than one-off meetings. They need a platform where they can identify the right partners, access technology and resources, and explore actionable opportunities for collaboration. France-Vietnam Forward was created with this in mind, bringing innovation, business and talent development together in one space,” said Giroux.

Alongside the technology forum, the Job & Education Fair focuses on another important dimension of economic cooperation: connecting businesses' workforce needs with the skills, career aspirations and learning opportunities of the workforce.

For France-Vietnam cooperation to continue to grow, it is important to connect businesses with talent equipped with the right skills and an international outlook. Employers are looking not only for candidates with professional expertise, but also for people who can adapt, learn and work in multicultural environments.

“The Job & Education Fair creates opportunities for both sides to meet directly, helping businesses connect with suitable talent while giving young people a clearer understanding of the skills and career opportunities sought in international markets,” said Giroux.

French ambassador to Vietnam Didier Le Bret said that whether in the fields of education, training and research, or at the corporate level, France and Vietnam have long-standing innovation partners.

Furthermore, France, ranked 13th in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, is a global technology leader, notably thanks to the creation of 55 competitiveness clusters bringing together companies, research and training centres, and thanks to the French Tech network, of which French Tech Vietnam is a member.

“We are ready to share our experience in innovation governance and to welcome Vietnamese entrepreneurs into our ecosystem,” Bret said.

“The theme of innovation was also a big topic of President To Lam's recent visit to France: not only was innovation mentioned in the Joint Declaration on accelerating the implementation of the Global Strategic Partnership between France and Vietnam, but President To Lam also devoted part of his programme to visiting the Paris-Saclay science and technology cluster and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission."

Tran Trong Tuyen, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, said that Ho Chi Minh City was entering a new phase of development, with a focus on transforming its growth model towards one driven increasingly by knowledge, technology, innovation, and human capital quality.

“As one of Vietnam’s major economic, scientific, technological, and innovation hubs, the city identifies science, technology, and innovation as key drivers of productivity, competitiveness, the creation of new added value, and sustainable development,” Tuyen said.

In this process, he added, international cooperation plays a particularly important role. France has strong capabilities in sci-tech, higher education, applied research, and the development of innovative enterprises. These are areas with considerable potential for deeper cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City.

“We expect closer links between France’s science, technology, and innovation ecosystem and the city to create further opportunities for substantive cooperation, ranging from joint research and technology transfer to new product development, investment connectivity, and market expansion for businesses on both sides,” Tuyen said.

Ho Chi Minh City seeks to strengthen links between French technology companies and local businesses, universities, research institutes, and innovation centres. This will help develop concrete cooperation projects that are viable, scalable, and capable of delivering tangible socioeconomic benefits.

“Beyond technology, we are also keenly aware that high-quality human resources are a decisive factor in the ability to adopt, master, and develop technology. Cooperation between businesses, universities, and research institutes should therefore be further strengthened, with training aligned more closely with practical needs, greater exchanges of experts and knowledge sharing, and more opportunities for young people to participate directly in research, development, and innovation activities,” he said.

France-Vietnam Forward 2026 discussed on technology, innovation, business development and talent development. Photo: CCIFV