The France Year in Vietnam was launched at a ceremony in Hanoi
on April 9 with the attendance of Minister of Culture, Sports and
Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and visiting French Minister for Foreign Trade
Nicole Bricq.
Held to mark the 40 th anniversary of
bilateral diplomatic ties (1973-2013), the France Year in Vietnam is
scheduled to last until mid-2014 and feature a broad range of
activities in various areas such as economics, education, research,
culture, arts, tourism, sports, architecture, fashion and national
defence.
Addressing the ceremony, Minister Nicole
Bricq highlighted the friendly and trusting relationship between the two
countries, saying France hopes to continue developing cooperation
with Vietnam based on the existing solid ground.
The 2013 France Year in Vietnam , to be followed by the 2014 Vietnam
Year in France , aim to offer more opportunities for the two
countries to explore each other and increase exchange, she said.
Minister Hoang Tuan Anh said the establishment of bilateral diplomatic
ties 40 years ago marked a milestone and opened up a new page in the
relationship between the two countries.
The
relationship has seen dynamic and comprehensive development since then
and France is now Vietnam ’s leading economic partner in Europe, he
said, adding that France ’s effective assistance has contributed to
Vietnam ’s poverty reduction, socio-economic development and
sustainable development.
The minister also
stressed that the two countries share a common vision on the modern
world and strive for the common goal of peace, equality, humanity,
cooperation and development.
He noted that this
similarity between the two countries can be seen clearly in the outcome
of numerous visits of their senior officials, of bilateral dialogue
mechanisms and cooperation between their localities, as well as in the
cooperation between the two countries in regional and international
organisations and forums, particularly the Francophone organisation.
The relations between Vietnam and France have been further
cemented by cultural and education-training cooperation. The number of
Vietnamese students and researchers studying in France has been
increasing at an annual rate of 30 percent over the past decade. With
more than 7,000 citizens studying in France at present, Vietnam
has become the second biggest Asian community in French tertiary
institutions.
The minister affirmed that Vietnam will
do its utmost, together with France, to successfully organise the
Vietnam-France/France-Vietnam Year in 2013 and 2014.-VNA