President To Lam Meets with President of the French National Assembly in Paris
Paris, The Gulf Observer: Party General Secretary and State President To Lam of Vietnam held a meeting with Yael Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly (NA), on October 7 during his official visit to France.
In his remarks, President Lam congratulated Braun-Pivet on her re-election as President of the French NA and conveyed an invitation from Trần Thanh Mẫn, Chairman of the Vietnamese NA, for her to visit Vietnam in the near future. He also commended France for successfully hosting the Francophonie Summit, which yielded significant outcomes that enhanced economic cooperation within the Francophone community.
During their discussions, Lam urged both countries to increase mutual visits at all levels, particularly high-level exchanges among their parties, states, governments, and parliaments, to foster closer collaboration. He proposed that France promptly re-establish the Vietnam-France Parliamentary Friendship Group to strengthen ties between their parliaments and enhance people-to-people connections.
President Braun-Pivet expressed appreciation for Lam’s engagement with France’s high-ranking officials to identify key directions for advancing bilateral relations. She lauded Vietnam’s remarkable socio-economic progress, particularly its efforts to balance development with environmental protection, benefiting the well-being of its citizens.
Braun-Pivet acknowledged Vietnam’s significant role as ASEAN Chair in 2020, highlighting its contributions to strengthening EU-ASEAN relations and enhancing parliamentary cooperation between member countries.
Both leaders affirmed their commitment to deepening the strategic partnership between Vietnam and France and agreed to elevate this relationship to new heights. They emphasized the importance of cooperation and delegation exchanges between their parliaments to share experiences and improve legislative efficiency, as well as to coordinate efforts at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums.
Regarding economic, trade, and investment relations, Lam praised France as Vietnam’s fourth-largest trade partner and the second-largest EU investor, as well as a leading provider of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam. He urged the French National Assembly to expedite the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to facilitate investments and called for advocacy to lift the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood, crucial for the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen.
In response to Lam’s suggestions, Braun-Pivet commended Vietnam’s initiatives for sustainable fisheries and its efforts to encourage the EU to remove the “yellow card” warning concerning illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
As a partner within the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), France reiterated its commitment to supporting Vietnam’s climate adaptation efforts, focusing on finance, technology, human resources training, and policy-making.
The two leaders also acknowledged the importance of local cooperation in enhancing cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections. They referenced the 12th Vietnam-France decentralisation conference held in Hanoi in April 2023 and agreed to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese and French citizens to integrate into their host societies and contribute to socio-economic development and cultural diversity.
On regional matters, both leaders underscored the necessity of ensuring peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight, advocating for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Before concluding their meeting, Braun-Pivet extended an invitation to Lam for NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn to attend the General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) scheduled for July 2025.
