France Proposes Closer Ties with Vietnam in Global Food, Energy Crisis

<div align="justify">Vietnam and France need to further boost cooperation in addressing global challenges, particularly food and energy crisis, French Senator President Christian Poncelet has made the call during the meeting with Vietnamese national assembly speaker.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Vietnam, the second biggest rice exporter in the world, and France, also a big cereal shipper in EU, should deepen cooperation in ensuring food security, Vietnam News Agency said on July 28.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">France highly appreciates the role of non-permanent United Nations Security Council and clear stance on anti-nuclear activities for military aims, the French Senator President said, highlighting that the European country wants to beef up ties in health, clean water, and child adoption.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">France as EU presidency will convince the bloc to recognize Vietnam&rsquos market economy, he said.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">President Poncelet recommended that with great hydropower potentials, Vietnam should diversify energy sources such as wind-to-power, solar power to meet its rapidly increasing demand.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">In return, the Vietnamese national assembly speaker said that Vietnam wants to learn experience and high technology from France in environmentally-friendly production, governance, finance, banking, stock market and anti-inflation.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Recently, EU member-countries have reached a common consensus in Brussels to end the Generalized Systems of Preferences for Vietnamese shoes effective from early next year to 2011.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Vietnam expects to export US$10.4 billion worth commodities to the European Union (EU) this year, an on-year rise of 23.5 per cent this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said. (VNA)</div>