During talks in Paris on Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Lam called on France to support Vietnam’s development of quantum technologies and soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He urged France to support efforts to lift the European Commission’s IUU yellow card on Vietnamese seafood exports and help Vietnam develop a sustainable fisheries sector. Mr. Lam asked that France simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese citizens to promote tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
President Macron said he hopes the two countries will launch new projects in strategic science and technology sectors. The two sides agreed to focus on developing strategic industries and services with strong spillover effects, particularly through a value-chain cooperation model combining French technology, Vietnamese manufacturing, and regional and global supply networks.
The leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded trade, and agreed disputes should be resolved through peaceful means in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements in security, healthcare, aerospace, science, technology, and critical minerals, highlighting the broad scope of bilateral cooperation.
