Vietnamese leader To Lam warmly welcomed in Paris on official visit

Lecornu invited To Lam to render the flag salute and review the guard of honour at the Les Invalides.

After the welcoming ceremony, the Vietnamese leader held talks with French president Macron and witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents between the two countries. He also met with the President of the French National Assembly; the National Secretary of the French Communist Party, and the leadership of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association.

This is the first visit to France by the General Secretary and President of Vietnam in 22 years, aimed at deepening and making the Strategic Partnership between the two countries more practical and substantive. It seeks to further promote bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, culture, education, science-technology, and local cooperation.

The visit also aims to reaffirm Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of foreign relations, as well as proactive and effective comprehensive international integration, while elevating the Strategic Partnership between the two countries to new heights.

To Lam’s official visit takes place at a time when relations between the two countries have been reinforced in recent times. France is currently one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners, as well as a major investor and significant source of ODA within the European Union.

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and France has increased by 42% over the past 10 years, and reached US$2.96 billion in the first seven months of 2024. More than 300,000 Vietnamese expatriates in France constitute the largest Vietnamese community in Europe, serving as an important bridge for making the Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership more practical.