Vietnam- France Cooperation: Growing to a New Height

An interview with the Ambassador of France to Vietnam, Herve Bolot

 

 

We indeed established diplomatic relations 35 years ago, but I must say that our relations go back many more years than that. And this intimate relationship, which has spanned several centuries, has led to what we call a partnership. This partnership is multifaceted and has developed in many directions.

 

First of all, we sustain a very rich political dialogue: Since 1973, our relationship has been reinforced and has become what President Chirac called a “historical and exemplary partnership”. For these 35 years, our two countries have worked towards establishing a close political dialogue, highlighted by many visits at the highest levels.

 

This close relationship has led France to support Vietnam’s greater integration in the international community, since the first visit to Vietnam by a western Head of State after the launch of Doi Moi – by French President Mitterrand, in 1993. In fact, France was one of the first western countries to support Vietnam in its Doi Moi policy and is a privileged partner in Europe. The recent visit to France by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, last autumn, and his meetings with the French Prime Minister and the French President, as well as with many businessmen, undoubtedly contributed to deepening the relationship.

 

 

The education of the Vietnamese elite is one of our priorities, as far as cooperation is concerned. The Embassy devotes almost ¾ of all its cooperation spending to education and focuses on three main projects. French language learning is important to us, because mastering several foreign languages is an asset for people, especially the young, who will have to live with and in globalization, as well as to allow Vietnamese students to study in France. We try to develop French higher education in Vietnam, which means that students can obtain French diplomas in Vietnam. Three specific programs are already well known: PFIEV (Outstanding Engineers Program), CFVG (Franco-Vietnamese Management Centre) and PUF (French University Centres). Last but not least, we encourage Vietnamese students to study in France and, at the moment, more than 5000 of them, among which 900 are receiving scholarships, are studying in France, which thus receives the third biggest group of Vietnamese students in the world. 

 

This is an important effort, and there are very few countries who receive such attention from us. I believe, though, that we must do even better, and try to welcome more students, by offering more opportunities in Vietnam itself, and more vocational training.

 

 

You are right to underline that our relations in this field are strong and go back a long time. Alexandre Yersin, the first Dean of the Hanoi Medical University, is well known here and will remain a reference for a long time in the field of Public health. The achievements of Pasteur and the many hospitals built by the French are worth mentioning too. But this is the past, and we must look forward to the projects that we are now undertaking. In the medical field, our priority is the education of medical doctors and specialists, with a program that allows them to be an intern in France and to study a specialized area of medicine. For the past 20 years, more than 2000 MDs have been trained. And I would also like to mention partnerships between French and Vietnamese hospitals: To this day, 34 French hospitals have been involved in bilateral projects with 51 Vietnamese hospitals. Overall, this cooperation will continue and will probably have to be adapted to the changes your medical education system undergoes.

 

 

We have an excellent relation as far as cooperation is concerned. Vietnam is one of the few countries in the “Priority Solidarity Zone”, which are the countries that receive the bulk of France’s Official Development Aid. ODA is allocated along the lines determined by both governments in the “Partnership Framework Document”, which covers the 2006-2010 period. When the PFD comes to its end, we will continue our cooperation and adapt our projects to the rapid changes in Vietnam, according to its needs. At the moment, these new priorities are not known and will of course be discussed with the Government. We wish to see this partnership develop into a more balanced relationship, which probably means less ODA, since Vietnam will need it less and less as its economy grows, and it will soon be a middle-income country.

 

France, a founding member of the European Union, is keen to maintain close coordination with its European partners on matters of cooperation. This is a constant policy, because France is the biggest donor to European Aid, and even more so at the moment, because we hold the European local Presidency in 2008, in a local capacity during the first semester - holding the chair for Slovenia, and then in a national capacity when the French Presidency begins in July.

 

Giang Tu