Vietnam, France boost economic and financial cooperation

The working session took place in Paris within the framework of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam's official visit to France.

Tuan noted that Vietnam and France have enjoyed longstanding friendship and cooperation since the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1973. Their ties have expanded across politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, development cooperation, culture, education and people-to-people exchanges.

The elevation of bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2013 and a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024 has provided an important foundation for deeper, more substantive and effective cooperation, he said.

Economic ties have continued to grow across trade, investment and development cooperation. Bilateral trade surpassed US$5 billion in the first eight months of 2026, with Vietnam exporting US$3.1 billion worth of goods to France and importing US$1.9 billion worth of products from the European country.

As of August 31, 2026, France had 749 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with combined registered capital of around US$4.01 billion, ranking 16th among 154 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. Meanwhile, Vietnam had 20 investment projects in France, with total registered capital of US$39.18 million.

France remains one of Vietnam's largest bilateral providers of official development assistance (ODA). Since 2002, it has been Europe's leading provider of committed loans to Vietnam, mainly through concessional financing from the French Treasury and the French Development Agency (AFD), averaging more than EUR100 million annually.

In the coming time, Tuan proposed the two sides continue to effectively maintain the Vietnam-France High-Level Economic Dialogue, co-chaired by the two finance ministries. The 10th meeting is scheduled for early December 2026.

With Vietnam rolling out a number of large-scale strategic infrastructure projects, the minister called for stronger cooperation with France, particularly in high-tech sectors.

He proposed the French Government continue to provide Vietnam with highly concessional loans through the French Treasury and AFD, while increasing technical assistance, sharing experience, strengthening the capacity of Vietnamese agencies and supporting the preparation of feasibility studies and associated grants.

In investment and trade, the two sides discussed stepping up investment promotion and policy information exchanges to facilitate two-way investment flows.

Tuan also called on the French Parliament and Government to soon complete procedures to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), saying its implementation alongside the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) would create more favourable conditions for businesses from both sides to expand operations.

For his part, Lescure mentioned several cooperation areas of mutual interest, including Hanoi's Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line project, the VNREDSat-2 Earth observation satellite project and loans financed by AFD.

France also proposed cooperation on regional railway connectivity projects and expressed its readiness to support Vietnam in its discussions with the European Union on removing Vietnam from the EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

The two sides should continue close coordination to accelerate projects and promptly address emerging difficulties, Lescure said.

On this occasion, the two ministers witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Vietnam's Tax Department and France's Directorate General of Public Finances.

The agreement establishes a bilateral cooperation framework to support Vietnam's Tax Department in reviewing and improving its organisational structure and operational processes in line with OECD standards, while strengthening training and professional capacity for tax officials and experts.

Priority areas include information exchange on request and automatic exchange of information, information technology infrastructure development, artificial intelligence applications in tax administration, improved tax inspection efficiency and stronger international cooperation in tax debt recovery.

Vietnam, France seek new impetus for comprehensive strategic partnership

Vietnam is emerging as a stabilising force in Southeast Asia, while similarities in foreign policy approaches of Vietnam and France are creating opportunities for the two countries to deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, particularly in defence, aerospace, high technology, economy and innovation.