The two sides explored and advanced deeper cooperation across a wide range of fields, while demonstrating their readiness to work with the international community in outer space, an increasingly important domain for development and security.
For decades, Viet Nam and France have built a relationship founded on friendship and ever-strengthening cooperation. The two sides have maintained regular high-level and other exchanges across all channels. France has supported Viet Nam throughout its process of renewal and international integration. During high-level meetings, President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his admiration for Viet Nam, highly valued the country’s growing role and standing, highlighted the longstanding traditional bonds between the two peoples, and affirmed that France stands ready to accompany Viet Nam in its new era of development.
In October 2024, during General Secretary and President To Lam’s visit to France and attendance at the Francophonie Summit, the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, making France the first Western European country to establish the highest level of partnership with Viet Nam and marking an important milestone in bilateral relations. A succession of high-level visits, exchanges, and meetings since then has charted a new course and elevated the stature in Viet Nam–France relations.
The Vietnamese high-ranking delegation’s latest visit to France marked another turning point in bilateral relations, providing an opportunity to review progress in translating the 2024 vision into tangible outcomes, particularly the goal of making science and technology a pillar of bilateral cooperation, while setting out a new vision for the future. During the visit, President Emmanuel Macron presented General Secretary and President To Lam with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, one of France’s highest national distinctions.
The delegation’s activities attracted considerable international attention, particularly General Secretary and President To Lam’s attendance at the Space Summit in Paris, where he delivered an important address opening the high-level thematic session on “building a new space for a rapidly changing world.” He outlined five principles for multilateral governance of outer space, called for the non-use or threat of force, stressed the need to place people and the Earth at the centre, and affirmed Viet Nam’s readiness to serve as a connecting hub for Southeast Asia in international space cooperation.
The summit, an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, provided an opportunity for countries to exchange views and forge a new vision for addressing challenges in outer-space governance. It brought together numerous delegations led by heads of state and government, as well as leaders of national space agencies, international organisations, businesses, and aerospace research institutions from around the world.
Outer space is an area in which Viet Nam and France already share substantive cooperation, including research, the development of remote-sensing satellites, and space applications in agriculture, fisheries, climate change response, and environmental and natural resource management. It is also a strategic technology that Viet Nam is seeking to master, while France possesses one of Europe’s leading science and technology capabilities.
At the summit, Viet Nam had the opportunity to engage in dialogue and foster deeper cooperation with France and other potential partners in this field, while demonstrating its readiness to work with the international community in a domain of critical importance to development and security.
General Secretary and President To Lam proposed that Viet Nam, France, the United Nations, ASEAN, and other partners explore the establishment of a “space for development and resilience” network. The initiative would focus on sharing and utilising space data, bolstering capacities to ensure a safe and sustainable space environment, and connecting research and training with businesses and investment to develop the space economy. As an initial step, the network could focus on Southeast Asia, with Viet Nam ready to serve as a regional connecting hub.
On this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam held meetings and exchanges with leaders of Serbia, the Republic of the Congo, Bulgaria, Finland, and Luxembourg, as well as the President of the European Commission, to advance cooperation. The leaders expressed their desire to maintain high-level exchanges to discuss substantive issues and further tap into collaborative potential across various fields.
In the context of current global developments, both Viet Nam and France face new requirements arising from their domestic development needs and changing international circumstances. France is currently the second-largest European investor in Viet Nam. Therefore, close and effective cooperation can provide both countries with important advantages in pursuing their respective objectives.
During the visit, numerous cooperation initiatives, commitments, and joint projects were reviewed, discussed, and signed, while new orientations and directions were charted. The French Government, ministries, and agencies expressed their desire to engage in more concrete discussions with Vietnamese partners.
During their meetings and talks, leaders of both countries emphasised that vast untapped potential remains for cooperation. They agreed on the need to concentrate resources on promoting major flagship projects in areas where France has strengths and Viet Nam has strategic needs, including aerospace, strategic transport infrastructure, clean energy and critical minerals.
The two sides agreed to further deepen their traditional cooperation in culture, education and training, healthcare, and local-level connectivity, while strengthening the new pillar of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation. General Secretary and President To Lam noted that the two countries have achieved positive results in satellite operation and utilisation and should further propel cooperation in this field.
French leaders highly valued the development of Viet Nam’s industrial sector and expressed their interest in participating in projects in Viet Nam, including in energy, strategic infrastructure, and minerals. They also expressed a strong willingness to support Viet Nam in developing international financial centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
The past three years have been a particularly dynamic period in Viet Nam–France relations, driven by Viet Nam’s rapid development and growing international influence, as well as an increasingly complex and volatile global environment that has required the two countries to forge closer ties.
In practice, France can play a pivotal role in areas central to Viet Nam’s current strategic vision, including energy security, clean and renewable energy, and the development of new infrastructure such as railways, including urban rail systems, to meet the country’s development needs. France can also support Viet Nam in gradually mastering space technology; developing and applying new technologies and products in traditional areas of cooperation such as healthcare and pharmaceuticals; expanding cooperation in green and digital technologies; and participating jointly in value chains while helping safeguard critical supply chains.
Sharing a vision for the future, the two leaders agreed to leverage France’s strengths as one of Europe’s leading scientific powers and officially establish science and technology cooperation as a new and pivotal pillar of bilateral relations.
Breakthrough cooperation will focus on strategic fields such as aerospace, critical minerals, quantum technology, clean energy, and research supporting sustainable development and climate change response. President Emmanuel Macron expressed his hope that the two countries would soon launch major new projects in strategic science and technology fields. General Secretary and President To Lam proposed expanding scientific research cooperation, including in space science, as well as technology transfers and technological mastery, while calling on France to support Viet Nam in gradually developing quantum technologies.
The official visit to the French Republic and attendance at the Space Summit in Paris by General Secretary and President To Lam produced concrete and substantive outcomes of long-term value. The visit has generated fresh momentum for propelling established commitments into a phase of rigorous and effective implementation, contributing positively to the development of both countries and to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
