Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong
Trong is accompanied by Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong, Deputy PM, FM Pham Binh Minh and several Cabinet ministers.
The upcoming summit meeting between Party leader Trong and French President Emmanuel Macron will be the first high-level one since Macron was elected President of France and it takes place on the occasion of the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties (1973) and the 5th anniversary of the establishment of Strategic Partnership (2013).
This is also the first visit made by Party chief Trong to Western Europe after the 12th National Party Congress.
The visit aims to create new impetus as well as frameworks and orientations to deepen the Viet Nam-France Strategic Partnership in various fields from politics, economy, trade to security and defense, education, and sustainable development.
During the visit, both sides are expected to sign a number of agreements on defense, justice, space technology, intellectual property, climate change adaption, tourism, education and valued economic contracts.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Thiep, the Viet Nam-France relations have advanced well with comprehensive scope of cooperation, especially in such areas as education and culture.
France has become one of the top partners of Viet Nam in Europe while Viet Nam has been an indispensible partner of France in Asia.
Trade links between the two sides has witnessed strong development in recent years. The two-way trade hit US$4.6 billion in 2017, up 11.6% from the previous year.
In 2017, France ranked 3rd among European countries, and 16th among 125 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, with 513 valid projects worth US$2.8 billion.
France is a leading European provider of official development assistance for Viet Nam, and Viet Nam is the 2nd largest beneficiary nation of French ODA in Asia, with total committed capital of US$18.4 billion since 1993.
With 14 projects worth US$188 million, France ranks seventh among countries and territories in terms of tourism investment in Viet Nam, which considers the EU nation as a key source of tourists.
