A Historic Milestone in Viet Nam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam To Lam, together with his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, is paying an official visit to France and attending the International Space Summit in Paris.

This is a historic event in relations between the two countries: it marks General Secretary and President To Lam’s second official visit to France, and the second time the head of the Vietnamese Party and State has attended an international event hosted by France.

In particular, the summit is the world’s first at the level of heads of state dedicated to outer space, demonstrating Viet Nam’s strong support for the French initiative and promoting cooperation in science-technology and the aerospace sector, with a view to enhancing Viet Nam’s strategic autonomy in these fields.

The visit sends a strong message that Viet Nam and France attach particular importance to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework and affirms their desire to strengthen sustainable strategic trust between the two countries. It also provides an opportunity to further deepen ties between General Secretary and President To Lam and French leaders.

“Viet Nam-France relations are developing positively and comprehensively, both in breadth and depth, on the foundation of increasingly high political trust and deep historical and cultural ties, as well as people-to-people exchanges. This visit further affirms Viet Nam’s special regard for the Viet Nam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, while contributing to making the two countries strategic gateways to each other in the EU and ASEAN regions.

In addition, the visit provides an opportunity to connect France’s strengths in science, technology, innovation and other strategic sectors with Viet Nam’s new development needs, thereby attracting additional resources to serve the country’s goal of rapid and sustainable development and creating further momentum to deepen bilateral relations in a more substantive and effective manner.”

More than half a century of cooperation and friendship

Since Viet Nam and France officially established diplomatic relations in 1973, Viet Nam-France relations have achieved many milestones along their shared journey. Viet Nam and France elevated their relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2013 and a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024, making France the first country in the EU to have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Viet Nam.

At a recent reception for outgoing French Ambassador to Viet Nam, Olivier Brochet, Party General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Viet Nam consistently attaches importance to its relations with France, its first comprehensive strategic partner within the European Union.

Having weathered the vicissitudes of history, the two countries have successfully forged a relationship of friendship, equality, mutual respect and a shared orientation towards the future.

Expectations of new breakthroughs

Viet Nam and France regularly maintain exchanges of delegations at all levels and a range of bilateral cooperation mechanisms; they coordinate closely and support one another at international forums and organisations. Viet Nam participates in and supports French multilateral initiatives such as the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the Coal Transition Accelerator (CTA) Initiative, and the Paris Pact for People and Planet.

Robust parliamentary relations between the two countries constitute an important channel, providing impetus to deepen bilateral cooperation across fields. Both the French National Assembly and Senate have France–Viet Nam Friendship Groups, which serve as bridges and actively promote cooperation between the two legislatures.

In terms of economic cooperation, France is Viet Nam’s fourth-largest trading partner within the EU. Two-way trade turnover in 2025 reached 6.3 billion USD, up 16.4% compared with 2024. The figure for the first six months of 2026 stood at 3.66 billion USD, an increase of 26.4% year-on-year. France ranks 16th among all countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, with 746 valid investment projects and total registered investment capital of approximately 4 billion USD. Viet Nam has 20 valid investment projects in France, with a total registered capital of 38.78 million USD.

France was among the earliest providers of ODA to Viet Nam and remains a leading European donor in terms of committed ODA capital, providing an average of more than 100 million EUR per year since 2002, focusing on key sectors including infrastructure, technology transfer, agriculture, green industry, and finance.

Science and technology have been designated by the senior leaders of both countries as a new pillar of cooperation in the Viet Nam–France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on science, technology, and innovation cooperation in May 2025, and an agreement on cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in November 2009.

In agriculture, Viet Nam and France signed an agreement on agricultural cooperation between the two Ministries of Agriculture in December 2023; a framework agreement on scientific and technical cooperation in agriculture and rural development with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) for the 2024–2028 period in September 2023; and a Memorandum of Understanding between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the French Development Agency (AFD) on cooperation in agriculture and the environment for the 20252030 period in May 2025.

Education and training cooperation has achieved significant milestones. The two sides are implementing several flagship projects, such as the Programme for the Training of Excellent Engineers in Viet Nam and the Viet Nam–France Centre for Management Education, and have signed an intergovernmental agreement on education cooperation.

Every year, the French Government provides around 60 scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in France, aiming to support Viet Nam in developing a highly skilled workforce. France’s scholarship policy focuses mainly on master’s and doctoral programmes. There are currently around 7,000 Vietnamese students studying in France.

Local cooperation has been a distinctive feature of Viet Nam–France relations since the 1990s. To date, the two countries have successfully organised 12 rotating conferences in France and Viet Nam, with the most recent held in Ha Noi in April 2023.

The Vietnamese community in France currently numbers around 350,000 people, integrates well into the host society, and maintains close ties with the homeland.

Promoting space technology cooperation between Viet Nam and France

The International Summit on Space is an initiative launched by French President Emmanuel Macron and scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10, 2026 in Paris, with the aim of promoting dialogue and shaping international cooperation in the space sector, contributing to the development of norms, rules and governance frameworks in the field of outer space. The summit is not only a specialised multilateral event but also carries significant strategic importance, reflecting France’s long-term vision of promoting international cooperation in space, satellite technology, security and technological sovereignty amid intensifying global competition.

The summit has set out four specific priorities, including: Space security; the space economy; shaping regulations and rules in the space sector; and strengthening scientific research and space exploration, promoting technological development and youth participation.

The summit is expected to consider the adoption of three draft declarations, with the main contents as follows:

(i) Declaration on the coordination of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) systems: Affirming the goal of ensuring the safe and sustainable use of outer space for the common good; reaffirming the central role of the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), in promoting cooperation and establishing international space governance mechanisms; calling for enhanced international coordination, transparency and confidence-building, and the implementation of guidelines on the sustainable development of space activities; welcoming the establishment of a Group of Experts on SSA within the framework of COPUOS, promoting the development of an international roadmap for space traffic coordination, while working towards the establishment of an international committee on SSA supported by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in a secretariat capacity.

(ii) Declaration on space science data: Affirming the role of space science data; promoting open access to, sharing and use of such data, and strengthening international cooperation in this field.

(iii) Declaration on the legal framework for radio frequencies for space activities: Reaffirming support for the legal framework of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); emphasising that the regulation of rules related to frequencies and the operation of satellite constellations should be carried out within a multilateral framework, while highlighting the responsibility of regulatory authorities to ensure compliance with ITU regulations.

At the multilateral level, General Secretary and President To Lam’s participation in the Space Summit in Paris demonstrates Viet Nam’s development vision and proactive spirit to international integration. It also represents the highest-level implementation of the Party’s major policies and orientations on foreign affairs, international integration, and the development of science, technology, and innovation, creating conditions for Viet Nam to participate in shaping international cooperation frameworks in a field of growing strategic importance to us. Space technology is now directly linked to the digital economy, telecommunications, Earth observation, resource management, natural disaster forecasting and prevention and control, climate change response, security, as well as many other essential areas.

According to the Viet Nam News Agency (VNA), Prof. and Dr. Tran Hong Thai, President of the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology, said that General Secretary and President To Lam’s official visit to the French Republic and participation in the Space Summit this time are of great significance to the Viet Nam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is built on a foundation of political trust and deep ties between the two countries. The visit will open up opportunities for substantive cooperation in science, technology and innovation, bringing into play France’s strengths, particularly in strategic technologies and space technology, in line with Viet Nam’s new development demands.

Published: September 2026
Produced by: Chu Hong Thang, Truong Son, Nguyen Ha, Minh Hang, Hoang Ha
Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Viet Nam News Agency