Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien and other members of the Vietnamese delegation to the seminar

(VOV) - A seminar on Vietnam as an important industrial and trade partner of France in Southeast Asia, was held in Paris yesterday. Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien spoke of Vietnam’s orientation for trade development from now until 2020 and the country’s import-export strategy for the next decade. Mr. Bien told a VOV correspondent in Paris ‘The EU in general and France in particular play an important role in Vietnam’s economic and trade ties with the rest of the world. Trade ties between Vietnam and the EU has been growing constantly. In the future, France is expected to continue its role as a key market for Vietnam’s export staples’.

French agencies and businesses have praised the potential and opportunities to do business in Vietnam. Martine Stepanek is in charge of Asia and America for the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She says ‘Vietnam’s development has encouraged French businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to invest there. And Vietnam’s investment environment has been greatly improved’.