Addressing the event, Riester underlined the importance of this year's annual dialogue for the two countries which enjoy a dynamic relationship formed through decades of effective co-operation across a variety of fields.

An overview of the session (Photo: VNA)

However, he noted that although there have been significant achievements recorded over the past 11 years of strategic partnership, the two countries still need to make greater efforts in order to continue to make new progress and face global challenges together. This should be done while simultaneously taking bilateral relations to new heights in a more sustainable and comprehensive manner.

He described Vietnam as one of the most dynamic economies in ASEAN with an increasing presence in value chains in the Indo-Pacific. Both countries are in a key region for global balance at present, he held.

Vietnam represents also a major strategic economic partner of France in the region and throughout the wider world. Trade between the two countries has more than doubled after 10 years with 7.6 billion EUR (8.27 billion USD) recorded in 2023.

Bilateral investment has also increased significantly over recent years with 1.5 billion EUR of French foreign direct investment (FDI) going to Vietnam.

He said he believes that French businesses can support the country in achieving its ambitions, and expressed his desire to join the Vietnamese side in fulfilling the set climate goals, including the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) which France, through the French Development Agency (AFD), has mobilised 500 million EUR for implementation.

The French official showed his hope that fruitful exchanges during the session will further contribute to deepening mutual understanding, strengthening bilateral relations, and paving the way for closer and more dynamic cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, Phuong said that this session, the first in-person session of the dialogue after the COVID-19 pandemic, is held amid the expanding strategic partnership between the two countries in various fields including politics, diplomacy, security-defence, trade-investment, culture-education, science-technology, and many important landmarks in the traditional bilateral cooperation.

It provides a chance for the two sides to discuss economic strategies and policies, and issues regarding multilateral and bilateral relations, including investment cooperation programmes and projects.

Phuong noted that despite impacts of the world economic and political situation, bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation have always been a pillar in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

France has been Vietnam's fourth largest trading partner, the second largest investor among the EU members and the top European provider of official development assistance (ODA).

He held that the two sides boast great cooperation potential that need to be further exploited and promoted.

The two sides concurred that bilateral ties have greatly expanded in all fields, and agreed on priority areas for future cooperation, including climate change response, green transformation, digital transformation, science and technology application, and semiconductor industry development.

The French side pledged to support Vietnam in training human resources and share experience with Vietnam to meet the country's development priorities.

At an earlier working session with the AFD, Deputy Minister Phuong and the French delegation discussed projects using AFD capital.

The French side is keen to accelerate projects that meet the selection criteria of the two sides for early implementation.

The AFD suggested that the Vietnamese Government, through the Ministry of Planning and Investment, create the best possible conditions for the projects facing difficulties to be realised soon.

Vietnam asked the AFD to continue to support projects that the country is interested in and having difficulties in terms of resources.

Vietnam also asked the AFD to continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to improve and simplify administrative procedures, thus accelerating the projects, while continuing to attract special resources from the EU such as non-refundable aid, and supporting projects using AFD loans in the coming time.