Ambassador works to enhance ties with French localities
A delegation from the Vietnamese Embassy led by Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang visited Hérault province in France’s Occitanie region from March 6-8, aiming to strengthen local-level cooperation.
Hérault Governor François Xavier Lauch (left) receives Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang in his office. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)🌸 - A delegation from the Vietnamese Embassy led by Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang visited Hérault province in France’s Occitanie region from March 6-8, aiming to strengthen local-level cooperation.
The trip formed part of diplomatic activities following the recent upgrade of Vietnam-France relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
During a meeting with Ambassador Thang, Hérault Governor François Xavier Lauch praised the strong Vietnam-France friendship and the positive integration of the Vietnamese community in Herault, calling them a vital bridge between the two nations.
Thang underscored the long-standing presence of Vietnamese communities in southern France, notably in Marseille, Nice, and Montpellier, highlighting their contributions to local development and bilateral cooperation.
Both sides reaffirmed their historic ties, reflected in high-level visits such as Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam’s visit to France in October 2024 and the earlier visit of France’s Defence Minister to Vietnam on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory in May.
Ambassador Thang briefed his host on Vietnam’s rapid socio-economic development and its increasing global integration, expressing a hope for new collaboration opportunities. Discussions focused on shared interests, including climate change response, education, seafood processing, economic exchange, and cultural cooperation.
In Béziers, one of France’s oldest towns and a renowned wine capital, Thang met with Mayor Robert Ménard. Their talks covered higher education, economic partnerships, cultural exchange, and tourism development.
He also visited the Béziers University Institute of Technology (IUT Béziers), where many Vietnamese students are studying. Mayor Menard expressed a desire to attract more Vietnamese students, particularly in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Mayor Daniel Ballester (right)introduces to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang (centre) a dyke model in the town of Valras-Plage (Photo: VNA)
They also discussed business collaboration, especially in seafood processing and wine production. The Béziers mayor expressed his hope for enhanced tourism ties and more Vietnamese visitors to southern France.
In the coastal town of Valras-Plage, climate change and coastal erosion topped discussions between Thang and Mayor Daniel Ballester.
Ballester voiced concerns about rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion threatening local vineyards despite protective measures like seawalls.
Thang shared Vietnam’s similar challenges in the Mekong Delta and proposed joint research on sustainable solutions, including mangrove reforestation and artificial reef development./.
The annual Tet celebration at Paris City Hall has become a cherished gathering for the Vietnamese community and an opportunity for international friends to experience Vietnam’s culture and traditions.
French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet said scientific cooperation between France and Vietnam has a long history, noting that French scientists were arranged to support Vietnam in scientific research after the Institute of Oceanography was established in 1922.
Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang invited investors in France’s Grand Est region to explore opportunities in Vietnam, particularly in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agriculture, renewable energy, innovation, digital transformation, and semiconductors.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with Chairman of the Republic of Korea (RoK)–Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee is scheduled to convene its 48th session on August 11-13, with August 14-15 set as a backup date, according to the NA Office.
Vietnam’s Ambassador to Brazil and Bolivia Bui Van Nghi has led an embassy delegation to attend official events marking the 200th anniversary of Bolivia’s Independence Day.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK) and Vietnamese experts living and working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
In an interview with Korean media on the occasion of Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the RoK, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the visit demonstrates Vietnam’s strong resolve to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the RoK, with the aim of fostering greater political trust, closer strategic coordination, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation, and stronger bonds of friendship between the two countries' people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
