Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in Paris on June 10, as part of the former’s tour to France to attend the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice, according to a report from the Government News.

Regarding the bilateral economic cooperation, the Vietnamese PM said that the potential for bilateral cooperation remains vast, especially in such fields like aerospace, urban transport, nuclear energy, and manufacturing that Vietnam is giving high priority to luring foreign investments in the new era of national development.

Prime Minister Bayrou, meanwhile, expressed his impression on Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements as well as its increasingly high role and position on the international arena. He affirmed that France always attaches importance to bolstering cooperation with Vietnam in both traditional areas and emerging fronts specified in the Joint Declaration on elevation of the Vietnam-France relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

In the context of fast and complex evolution of global political and economy situation, the two Prime Ministers agreed to further enhance coordination to contribute effectively to peace, stability and development in the two regions and the world.

Both sides affirmed their resolve to make breakthrough advancements in economic, trade and investment cooperation through promoting trade liberalization, expanding market access, and working together to maintain stability of the global supply chain.

The Vietnamese PM urged the French side to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and coordinate closely with Vietnam in effectively implementing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

He took the occasion to call on French investors to team up with Vietnamese investors in developing strategic industries like automotive and logistics.

The two Prime Ministers also agreed to promote economic/trade/investment in a substantial, effective, fair and sustainable manner; create breakthroughs in science and technology cooperation – a new pillar of the bilateral ties, including aerospace science, nuclear energy cooperation; expand cooperation in strategic infrastructure development; and deepen and renew traditional cooperation areas.

After the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and a tripartite cooperation agreement between the Department Geology and Minerals of Vietnam, France's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM) and the French Development Agency (AFD) on the sustainable management of mineral resources and enhancing geological knowledge for energy transition.