The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate with relevant ministries and localities to draft a project on organizing the Vietnam Year in France and the France Year in Vietnam in 2013 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties.
It is part of the recent Official Dispatch issued by the Office of Government to disseminate the Prime Minister’s opinion.
Also participating in the project are the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Ministry of Planning and Investment; Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and People’s Committees of Hanoi, Hai Phong City, Hai Duong Province, Thua Thien-Hue, Ho Cho Minh City and Can Tho.
With the diplomatic ties established in 1973, Vietnam and France has expanded their relationship to almost all fields, ranging from politics, national defense, economic security, trade, science and technology to education and culture.
France is now one of the top European partners of Vietnam. It is the biggest European provider of ODA and the second European biggest investor in the country.
Both sides have signed 15 cooperative agreements and exchange-coordination mechanisms covering politics, diplomacy, national defense and security, finance-economy, and culture.
The bilateral cooperation has recently been marked with the establishment of a Vietnamese Culture Center in November, 2008 in France. This is the Vietnam’s first culture centre in Europe, which indicates the country’s viewpoint of seeing France as a bridge for beefing up cooperation with the European Union (EU) and the whole Europe as well.
VGP