Like many other parks in France, Montreuil park is dotted with green trees, flowers and grass and is very peaceful and tranquil. In this park two years ago, a statue of the late President Ho Chi Minh was erected in commemoration of the brilliant leader of the Vietnamese people, an exemplary communist of the Communist Party of France and a prominent activist of the international workers’ movement.

Montreuil Mayor Jean Pierre Brard has many times said that Montreuil people are proud to preserve President Ho’s valuable memorabilia collected during his time in France. He said, “President Ho is a model example for us. Despite his simplicity and modesty, he was a prominent leader with strategic vision and progressive thinking, who found ways to bring Vietnam out of colonial oppression and exploitation and wrestle back independence. He sets a bright example for national liberation movements around the world.”

Visiting France this time, PM Dung met with many of Vietnam’s French friends including the Montreuil Mayor and Raymond Aubrac’s daughter Elizabeth, who was adopted by President Ho. They are loyal friends of the Vietnamese people and devoted to fostering the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Jacques Oudin is another close French friend of Vietnam. Born in the central city of Da Nang, Mr Oudin, who is now president of the high-level Council for French-Vietnamese Economic Cooperation and Development, has made every effort to cement relations between the two countries.

“I love Vietnam as my second motherland. Vietnam is a heroic nation in the struggle for national independence in the past and it is dynamic in national construction and development at present. I am certain that France will pay special attention to Vietnam in its policies towards Asia, as Vietnam’s role and position are being elevated in the region and the world. I believe that relations between Vietnam and France will develop strongly and comprehensively following Mr Dung’s visit and I will try my best to make it happen.”

Traditional friendship and cultural links between Vietnam and France are invaluable assets of the two nations, serving as a firm foundation for them to strengthen mutually beneficial, practical, effective and equitable cooperation in a peaceful world.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy considered Mr Dung’s visit a new milestone in bilateral relations and expressed his desire to develop the strategic partnership with Vietnam further.

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon affirmed France’s support for Vietnam in its international integration process and said that the French Government will establish missions to explore potential and cooperation opportunities with the Southeast Asian country.

Strong political commitments by the French leaders have built up their business community’s trust in Vietnam – an attractive investment destination in Asia. The word “Vietnam” became the centrepiece of exchanges between the Vietnamese Government leader and the chief executive officers of many leading French groups in Paris. President of the Movement of Enterprises of France, Jean Bouvier said that French groups want to cooperation with Vietnam in all fields.

“Besides the primary goal of making profits, we want to become long-term partners with Vietnam. We pledge to go along with Vietnam in its economic development process, as well as cementing the traditional friendship between the two nations,” said Mr Bouvier.