The visit aims to affirm the strategic importance of the Viet Nam-France relations while seeking to raise bilateral ties to new heights.

The two sides have set up a strong development framework on the back of nearly 20 cooperation deals and a series of dialogues and consultations.

France is the third largest European trade partner of Viet Nam, with last year’s two-way trade hitting US$3.2 billion.

In terms of investment, the country ranks second among European investors and 15 th among all countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, with over US$3 billion in 375 valid projects by December 31, 2012.

At the same time, France has always maintained the position as the top European donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam with almost US$340 million committed for 2013.

The cooperation between the two countries also spans various fields, from education-training, health care, science-technology to justice and security-defence. Education is a priority of France ’s cooperation with Viet Nam, focusing on the teaching of the French language and tertiary training on economic management, banking, finance, law and new technology.

On the international arena, Viet Nam and France have been cooperating closely at international and regional forums including the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and ASEAN-EU./.