Celebrating the 230th anniversary of French National Day.

Speaking at the 230th anniversary of France's National Day, Mr. Vincent Floreani, Consul General of France in Ho Chi Minh City, expressed his pleasure at the significant strengthening of France-Vietnam relations at the European, bilateral, and local levels. At the European level, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), signed at the end of June, will allow for the gradual removal of import tariffs. France, like other European partners, expects a strong breakthrough in trade between Europe and Vietnam in general, and between Europe and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.

Also at the ceremony, Mr. Le Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, highly appreciated the strong development of bilateral relations in recent years. Specifically, two-way trade between Vietnam and France reached US$5.1 billion in 2018. The signing of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) will be a solid foundation for economic development and create many cooperation opportunities for businesses of both countries.

In Ho Chi Minh City, relations with France have also been strengthened in all areas: economy, culture, tourism, education, etc. Recently, many French business delegations have visited Ho Chi Minh City, including a delegation from the aviation sector. During this visit, French businesses had the opportunity to showcase their strengths in air transport and were particularly interested in cooperating on projects such as the expansion of Tan Son Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) and the construction of a completely new Long Thanh Airport (Dong Nai).

The Phong