Vietnam, an extraordinary country to France, says french diplomat
HANOI - Viet Nam is among several coutries with them France has special ties, so said former French ambassador to Viet Nam, Serge Degallaix.
The diplomat has been rerently appointed adviser to French Prime Minister on foreign policy.
Following are excerpts from an interview he granted to Lao Dong Labour) newspaper.
Q: Many members of the new French government have had ties with Viet Nam. For example, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin himself has visited the country five times. Given the situation, what is new to the France-Viet Nam relations?
A: There is a "Vietnamese connection" within the French government, in deed. It begins with the Senate president, Christian Poncelet. Elected to this presidency, he has resigned from all of his previous posts, but for that of president of the France-Viet Nam Frienship Association. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has been to Viet Nam several times. He attended the Can Tho Agriculture Trade Fair inauguration in December 2000.
Many are maintaining personal relations with Viet Nam. Just open my agenda, I had a business brunch with a Medef board member last Thursday. He said his grand-father used to be a manager of finance in Saigon (the former name of Ho Chi Minh City). Those links brought about positive results but not enough for bilateral ties, for them effective projects are needed. There is no doubt that projects with Viet Nam are considered with willingness and favourably talked of, as compared with others countries. For instance, we are examining the Ha Noi tram project but this also depends on Vietnamese side.
When I left Viet Nam (in 2001), France was the largest non-Asian exporter to Viet Nam. French imports of Vietnamese goods, such as footwear and garment products, are on the rise. We have maintained good cultural ties, with the Hue Festival widely known. Viet Nam is an extra ordinary country to France. Eleven months have passed since I left Viet Nam, and whenever I talked about it, I came across people having connection with the country, who are keen on learning more about it. France maintained this type of relations with only several countries. Besides, Viet Nam is a populous and fast-growing country. We believe that it will become a strong economy in the coming years. For this reason, French business people advocate developing strong relations with Viet Nam.
Q: Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong is due for a visit to France late this month. What's special about the time when the visit takes place. What about his agenda?
A: This will be the sole visit by a head of State to France this year. We have received Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, former Party Secretary General Le Kha Phieu. In 1997, President Chirac paid an official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of his counterpart Tran Duc Luong. Therefore, we deserve this visit. President Tran Duc Luong will be accompanied by government officials. We would like to take this opportunity to negotiate some detailed projects, for instance those on tram network in Ha Noi, on the estabishment of a French speaking university in Ho Chi Minh City, the Phu My 2 powerplant, the Airbus deal but more importantly, we will discuss the current overall situation.
Vietnam News Agency - October 9, 2002
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