 President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron inspect the Honor Guard of the Vietnam People's Army, May 26, 2025. (Photo: VOV) |
President Cuong and President Macron took part in a flag-raising ceremony, inspected the Honor Guard, and observed a military parade.
Following the welcome ceremony, the two Presidents held talks, witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements, and met with the press.
The two leaders exchanged views and reached consensus on major directions for future cooperation between the two countries. They agreed to effectively implement existing collaboration mechanisms and consider the establishment of new ones, saying that the two countries should continue implementing signed agreements in the fields of defense and security, including cooperation in combating transnational crime.
President Cuong took this occasion to extend an invitation to high-ranking French leaders to attend the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, to be held in Hanoi in October 2025.
In the areas of economy, trade, and investment, the two leaders agreed to promote trade and investment ties and to effectively implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). France pledged to support the early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), advocate for the European Commission to lift its "yellow card" warning on Vietnamese seafood, and create favorable conditions for Vietnam to increase aquatic product exports to the French and EU markets.
Both sides also reached a consensus on enhancing cooperation in science and technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and digital transformation, especially in training high-quality human resources. They also committed to expanding joint scientific research, promoting technology transfer and mastery, and investing in the development of digital infrastructure.
 The talks between President Luong Cuong and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Hanoi on May 26. Photo: VOV |
The Vietnamese side called on France to continue its support in development cooperation through official development assistance (ODA) funding and preferential government loans for projects aimed at enhancing climate resilience and improving human resources quality in the energy sector. France was also suggested to continue assistance for Vietnam in carrying out specific projects within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
Exchanging notes on regional and global issues of mutual concerns, President Cuong affirmed that Vietnam maintains its steadfast "Four No's" defense policy in international relations. Both sides laid stress on the essential role of multilateralism, with the UN holding the central position.
President Macron affirmed his support for ASEAN's stance on the East Sea. The two sides emphasized that the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) serves as the comprehensive legal framework for all maritime and oceanic activities and cooperation. They reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, resolving disputes by peaceful means based on international law, and supporting all efforts to achieve an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that complies with international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS.
Following their talks, the two leaders witnessed the handover of several cooperation documents, covering the domains of defense, justice, archiving, science, technology, nuclear energy, transport, aviation, agriculture, environment and healthcare.