PM Dung leaves for France visit

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung left Hanoi on September 24, beginning an official three-day visit to France at the invitation of PM Jean-Marc Ayrault.

The two countries are expected to upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership during the visit.

Vietnam-France relations have developed substantially since both countries established diplomatic ties in 1973.

Economic cooperation is one of the key pillars in bilateral relations, with France being Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Europe after Germany and the UK.

As of December 31, 2012 France ranked second among European investors and 15^th among global investors in Vietnam, with 375 valid projects, totalling more than US$3 billion.

France is the leading European donor of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam. At the 2012 donors’ meeting in Hanoi, France committed nearly US$340 million in ODA to Vietnam.