Top leader’s France visit a milestone in bilateral ties
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his entourage left Orly airport in Paris on October 7 (local time), concluding their successful official visit to France and attendance at the 19th Francophonie Summit from October 3-7 at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo: VNA)
Paris (VNA)🌟 – Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his entourage left Orly airport in Paris on October 7 (local time), concluding their successful official visit to France and attendance at the 19th Francophonie Summit from October 3-7 at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Throughout the summit, Lam attended a series of high-level events, including the official welcome ceremony hosted by President Macron and the Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), the opening and plenary sessions focused on "Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship", the Francophonie Business Forum on innovation, and the award ceremony for exemplary Francophone enterprises.
He also took the opportunity to meet with prominent Vietnamese intellectuals from Francophone countries, staff from the Vietnamese Embassy and other agencies in France, and members of the Vietnamese community. He also held meetings with leaders of several countries, international organisations and foreign businesses.
The concluding session of the 19th Francophonie Summit saw the approval of several important documents, including the Villers-Cotterêts Joint Declaration and a resolution on the political situation and peacebuilding in the Francophone space.
It also welcomed Ghana and the Republic of Cyprus as official members, increasing the OIF membership to 93. Additionally, Angola, Chile, Nova Scotia (Canada), French Polynesia, and Saarland (Germany) were granted observer status.
The summit decided that the 46th Francophone Ministers' Meeting will be held in Côte d'Ivoire in 2025, and the 20th Francophonie Summit will take place in Cambodia in 2026. This will be the second time the summit is hosted in the Asia-Pacific, following the 7th summit held in Hanoi in 1997.
During his official visit to France, the Vietnamese top leader attended the official welcome ceremony, met with the press and held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. He also had a meeting with the President of the French National Assembly, received the National Secretary of the French Communist Party and representative of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association, visited the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and had a working session with its Director General. On this occasion, Lam and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam laid flowers in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in Montreuil city attended the inauguration ceremony of the memorial plaque honouring President Ho Chi Minh and met with the Mayor of Le Havre city.
The leaders of the two countries agreed to announce the upgrade of the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and identified major directions and measures to further deepen the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a practical way, suitable to the new context of cooperation between the two countries. With this decision, France became the first country in the EU to have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam.
At the end of the visit, the two sides issued a joint statement on upgrading relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, in which they affirmed their commitment to further deepening political cooperation in the face of international challenges; enhancing defence and security cooperation, as well as economic partnership, cooperation for sustainable development and self-reliance; and promoting people-to-people exchange./.
Party General Secretary and President To Lam and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the upgrade of relations between the two countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during their talks in Paris on October 7 (local time), making France the first country in the European Union (EU) to establish this partnership with Vietnam.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam started an official visit to France from October 7 morning (local time) at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam met with President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher in Paris on October 7 afternoon (local time) within the framework of his official visit to France.
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.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the emulation and commendation work is a vital driver, fostering patriotism, dedication, and collective momentum in the run-up to the 11th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, Party congresses at all levels, and the 14th National Party Congress.
Emphasising the need for sustainable, long-term collaboration, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man called on Japanese investors not only to bring in capital but also to share expertise and modern technology, especially in areas such as green transformation, the circular economy, and advanced corporate governance.
President Luong Cuong's activities during his state visit to Angola, the celebration of the financial sector's 80th traditional day, and the Foreign Ministry's flag-hoisting ceremony marking the 58th founding anniversary of ASEAN are among news highlights on August 8.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung praised the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ meaningful initiative, noting that the ASEAN Family Run was not only a sporting activity but also an opportunity for diplomats and their families to show unity, connection, and solidarity within the ASEAN family.
Politburo member, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 8 attended the first congress of the Party Organisation of Tay Ho ward of Hanoi for the 2025–2030 term, during which he called for fresh momentum to turn the ward into a model that takes the lead in all fields.
The size of the economy increased from over 5 billion USD in 1986 to over 476 billion USD by 2024, making Vietnam the fourth-largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 34th largest in the world.
The ASEAN flag-hoisting ceremony is observed by the 10 ASEAN member countries on August 8 every year, aiming to spread and promote the ASEAN identity and affirm the determination to unite and cooperate for the common aspiration of long-term peace and prosperity of Southeast Asian countries under the common roof of the ASEAN Community.
Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong highlighted ASEAN’s nearly six decades of development, during which the region transformed from division to harmony, from confrontation to cooperation, and from poverty to dynamic growth, becoming a global bright spot for regional cooperation.
