Paris (VNA) – A seminar on boosting Vietnam –France economic ties via the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) tookplace in Paris on December 20, attracting about 100 participants.

Sponsored by the France – Vietnam Friendship Association,the Association of Vietnamese in France and the Foyer Vietnam organisation, theevent gathered historians, politicians, and legal and economic experts asspeakers.

Senator Catherine Deroche, President of the France-VietnamFriendship Parliamentarians’ Group, said the EVFTA, which is expected to beratified by the European Parliament and take effect in mid-2019, will createopportunities for Vietnam and France to develop their potential sectors andsend out a message on France’s readiness for cooperation with Southeast Asia.

She noted that her group at the French Senate will lobby forthe speedy ratification of the FTA.

Laurence Daziano, an economist and lecturer at the Sciences Pouniversity, affirmed Vietnam is a strategic selection of the EU based on fivecriteria.

According to her, regarding population scale, the countryhas a young and well-educated workforce. In terms of economic growth, it is the6th biggest economy in Southeast Asia. Concerning the rate ofurbanisation, the number of Vietnamese living in urban areas has increasedquickly, making up 34 percent of the total population in 2015 compared to 19percent in 1990. Vietnam’s demand for infrastructure construction and modernizationis on the rise. Finally, thanks to its political stability and suitable policyfor investment attraction, the country has climbed up the World Bank’s DoingBusiness rankings.

Participants agreed that the EVFTA will facilitate Europeancountries’ trade through tariff cut for auto and wine/alcohol products, theaccreditation of geographical indications protection, and high environmentalprotection standards.

They noted that French investors are interested in newopportunities in Vietnam, which is a gateway for them to access the SoutheastAsian market of more than 600 million people.

Injecting 3.4 billion USD into the Vietnamese market, Franceis now ranked third among European investors in the country. Nearly 300 Frenchenterprises are operating in Vietnam, creating some 26,000 jobs. The twocountries marked 45 years of diplomatic relations and 5 years of strategicpartnership in 2018, with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietname NguyenPhu Trong visiting France in March and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippevisiting Vietnam in November.-VNA