President's interview with French news agency AFP

On the occasion of the upcoming State visit to Vietnam by French President Francois Hollande, President Tran Dai Quang gave an interview to the French news agency AFP about important milestones in Vietnam-France relations.

President Tran Dai Quang. (Photo: Nhan Sang/VNA)

- Could you please evaluate the Vietnam-France relationship and the important milestones in the relationship between the two countries since its establishment?

President Tran Dai Quang: The Vietnam-France relationship carries special standards between two nations that have had deep historical ties; especially between a leading industrialized country in Europe and a dynamic, internationally integrated developing country in Asia.

As you know, 43 years ago, Vietnam and France laid the first bricks to build the foundation of a lasting relationship. Over the years, the friendship and cooperation between the two countries have been increasingly consolidated and developed.

The historic visit of President Francois Mitterrand to Vietnam in 1993 can be considered an important milestone in Vietnam-France relations. Following that, visits and working sessions of high-ranking leaders between the two countries have gradually promoted, strengthened and brought the Vietnam-France cooperation relationship to new heights, so that in 2013, the two countries signed a Joint Statement establishing a Strategic Partnership.

With a new, deeper and stronger cooperation framework, over the past 3 years, we have witnessed the results of cooperation in many fields, from politics-diplomacy, economics, trade, investment to science-technology, culture-education...

France is currently Vietnam’s fifth largest trading partner in the European Union and one of the leading bilateral ODA donors to Vietnam. The trade turnover in 2015 reached 4.2 billion USD, clearly demonstrating the development cooperation between the two countries.

The mechanisms for exchange and direction of relations in the fields of science-technology, culture, health, education, defense, etc. have been promoted and widely implemented. The two countries have signed most of the necessary legal documents for expanding cooperation such as the framework agreement on economic cooperation, the agreement on investment promotion and protection, the agreement on avoidance of double taxation and a series of cooperation agreements in other specific fields, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries, while contributing to peace, stability and common prosperity in the world.

- Mr. President, did the war with France in the past affect the current relationship between the two countries?

President Tran Dai Quang:The rich development, along with the achievements that have been, are being and will continue to be achieved in the Vietnam-France relationship, is perhaps a vivid and convincing answer to your question.

I would like to add that, like the French people and progressive humanity in the world, the Vietnamese people love peace very much and have experienced much pain and loss to gain, preserve and protect peace, independence and freedom.

Along with that, from their humanistic tradition, the Vietnamese people also know how to close the past, strive towards the future, a bright future with peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development not only for our two countries, but also contribute to peace, freedom, justice, charity and common prosperity for everyone on this earth.

I really like the comment of French writer Victor Hugo, which roughly means: "The future has many names... for the fearful it is the Unknown; for the brave, it is Opportunity."

- Could you please tell us what Vietnam expects the two countries to cooperate on in the defense field?

President Tran Dai Quang:Vietnam wishes and is ready to cooperate in many fields with countries, including France, for peace, stability and mutual benefit.

Over the past time, defense cooperation between Vietnam and France has been continuously strengthened and developed, becoming an important content in the five pillars of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

In the coming time, many directions of cooperation will be enhanced or may open up, such as supporting each other in participating in United Nations peacekeeping activities; ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation; coordinating to resolve issues of cyber security and non-traditional security, etc.

Accordingly, building a common vision on defense cooperation is a necessary requirement for the cooperation process to become increasingly rich and effective.

Last June, I received and had an interesting conversation with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during his visit to Vietnam.

The Minister spoke of France's concern for maintaining peace and stability in the seas and skies of the Asia-Pacific region; and for the principle of respecting the rule of law when considering and resolving disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international law.

I realize that these are views that Vietnam fully shares. Through this interview, we once again affirm our support for France to play an active and constructive role, so that our two countries can make practical contributions to the efforts to promote and protect the common interests of the international community./.

According to Vietnam+