Vietnamese Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung highly appreciated projects by French investors and called on others to do business in his the country with focuses on transport infrastructure, energy, IT and aviation in the upcoming time, state media said on October 2.
PM Dung made the statement October 1 at a round-table discussion with CEOs of the EU country’s 40 leading firms including Total, France Telecom, AXA, ENC, Big C, EDF, THAIES, Suez, and Energy International.
The Vietnamese government will try its utmost to reform investment policies and procedures to facilitate foreign investors including those in France, Dung noted.
During the talks with his French counterpart Francois Fillon, the Vietnamese government leader affirmed that France is a leading European partner of Vietnam, expressing his hope that the foreign nation will add Vietnam to a list of key nations to accelerate trade promotion.
He singled out France’s development assistance to Vietnam, especially its pledge of EUR1.4 billion from now until 2010, and suggested France could become Vietnam’s special partner in providing high-quality personnel training.
Dung also proposed France to help boost the Vietnam-EU relationship on the occasion it will hold the EU’s Presidency in the last six months of 2008.
Fillon, for his part, affirmed the French government would continue supporting Vietnam's efforts in strengthening ties with the EU and become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
The two leaders also took the occasion to discuss on the issue of human rights and the possible bilateral cooperation in the nuclear power sector.
They, after talks, jointly witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and contracts, including a contract to buy 10 Airbus A350-900s and 20 Airbus A321-200s, a credit program, an agreement with the French Development Agency on an aid to the Hanoi-Nhon railway, a protocol on the upgrade of the Long Bien bridge and some other deals.
The bilateral trade between Vietnam and France is expected to reach EUR1.7 billion this year, an on-year increase of 14.3 per cent. (Liberated Saigon, VNA)
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