Vietnam’s economics, mechanism and sectors with great potentials were discussed at a seminar jointly held by the France-Vietnam Friendship Association (AAFV) and the France-Vietnam Friendship Club in Paris on May 5.
Addressing the opening of the event entitled “Vietnam faces the future”, former French senator Helene Lux, who is also President of highlighted the Vietnam-France close cooperation in politics, culture and education.
The seminar is an opportunity for French businesses to better understand potentials and cooperation and investment opportunities in the Southeast Asian nation, she said.
With a population of more than 86 million people, Vietnam is a partner and a promising market for foreign investors who want to look for cooperation and investment opportunities, she added.
For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Le Kinh Tai introduced participants to Vietnam’s achievements recorded over almost 25 years of renewal. Vietnam has licensed more than 11,000 projects totalled over 180 billion USD since the Law on Foreign Investment was issued in 1987, Tai said.
On Vietnam’s economics, leading expert in Southeast Asian economics studies Jean Raphael Chaponniere gave a detailed analysis on Vietnam’s economic situation after the global economic crisis. Despite a number of development issues and being affected by the global financial downturn, Vietnam has won investors’ confidence and continued attracting foreign businesses, he said.
He forecast that increases in southern Chinese workers’ salaries and Chinese Yuan will attract businesses which have pursued the “China +1” policy since 2007 to Vietnam, creating a new export speed.
The French expert suggested Vietnam improve its infrastructure and its education and training system to overcome the outwork and assembly economy.
The seminar also introduced Vietnam’s political system and its sectors with great potentials for development like healthcare service and environment protection, finance-insurance market and hi-tech industry which drew French investors’ great attention.
The Vietnam-France relationship was also high on the agenda of the seminar. President Michel Voisin of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, one of the four biggest groups in the French Parliament, said that his group is urging the French Foreign Ministry to open its consulate general in the central coastal city of Da Nang and consider the opening of a direct air route linking Paris and the city./.