Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shakes hands with French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu. Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP

Appreciating the French minister for accepting the invitation to attend the grand ceremony, Prime Minister Chinh said that Lecornu's visit is important and contributing to advancing Vietnam-France Strategic Partnership.

He expressed his hope that the two sides will continue the exchange of delegations, prepare well for the upcoming visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron, and boost cooperation between ministries and localities.

The Prime Minister asked the French side to support and encourage EU countries to soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and lobby the European Commission to soon remove the yellow card against Vietnamese seafood exports in recognition of Vietnam’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Minister Lecornu said France values relations with Vietnam and the two sides can achieve a better future of cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and international law. He added that one of the goals of his trip to Vietnam is preparing for the upcoming visit to Vietnam by the President of France.

Prime Minister Chinh and French Minister of the Armed Forces Lecornu also discussed regional and global issues of shared concern.

They emphasized the importance of peace, security, stability, freedom of navigation and aviation, as well as resolving disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and building an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).