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France : Vietnam's biggest non-asian investor

An interview with Antoine Pouillieute, French Ambassador to Vietnam, on bilateral relations.

What should be considered achievements in bilateral economic relations in recent years?
France is the biggest non-Asian investor in Vietnam, with US$2 billion worth of registered capital. Last year, the biggest project was the Phu My 2-2 power plant. A consortium led by Electricit‚ de France is building the 700 MW plant with an investment capital of US$400 million. This year will see the implementation by Lyonnaise des Eaux-Ond‚o of a long- expected project to build the Thu Duc water plant in build-operate-transfer form with a total investment capital of US$150 million.

Could you tell us contracts in which France sells equipment to Vietnam this year?
In June, the last of the three ATR 72-500 airplanes for passenger transport was handed over to Vietnam Airlines. Many negotiations are under way that will result in the purchase by Vietnam Airlines of another five Airbus A321 planes. The corporation will have to think of long flights from Vietnam to Europe. The European plane maker Airbus has offered ideal planes for long flights such as A340 300. French companies are winning bidders or winning subcontractors in many big energy contracts such as the distribution network of the 500 kV power line, the Phu My 4 thermo-power plant and the Phu My nitrogenous fertilizer plant. By the year-end, many projects are likely to be concluded, especially those regarding the Dung Quat Oil Refinery and satellite launching.

Many members of the new French government have visited and had good relations with Vietnam. Will this be of any help to the promotion of business links?
The present government has members who love and understand Vietnam. Among those in favor of Vietnam are President Jacques Chirac, Parliament Chairman Poncelet, and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The prime minister, in particular, was former chairman of the region of Poitou-Charentes, which has cooperated with Vietnam and wants to deepen ties in the future. The new minister in charge of cooperation, who visited Vietnam a few weeks ago, also loves Vietnam.

Troubles with the adoption of Vietnamese children is a sensitive issue in France and is a matter of your concern since taking over the post. Some months ago, the Vietnamese Government has asked countries adopting Vietnamese children to sign bilateral agreements with Vietnam. Has the situation with France improved?
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has issued a decree saying that only countries signing adoption agreements with Vietnam will be allowed to adopt Vietnamese children. However, the decree only takes effect after guiding documents are promulgated, but up till now such documents have failed to take shape. In short, we are not pleased with the current situation but hope to see the decree come into force soon to create a change in attitude. Efforts should be made to make sure provincial authorities can designate orphanages that really have children available for adoption. The French president will soon express his view on this issue.

Does this means that there will be a Franco-Vietnamese summit?
Things have not been set yet, but if this happens, it will be an important milestone for the two countries.

A group of donors and the Vietnamese Government are trying to harmonize official development aid procedures. France and Japan are Vietnam's biggest bilateral donors, so do you think France will engage in this process?
Currently there are 50 international donors for Vietnam. If every country has its own procedures, half of the time will be for learning the formalities. France supports the harmonizing of procedures but do not agree all donors must follow identical procedures. I think France and Japan have similar policies and both want to maintain special ties with Vietnam. Therefore, we want to present what is logical, not arbitrary.

A major trade partner and investor

France is seen as a large market for Vietnamese exports as two-way trade has developed rapidly and steadily.

According to customs figures, bilateral trade turnover increased from 50 million euros in 1986 to more than 1.13 billion euros in 2001, a twenty-twofold increase. Vietnamese exports to France jumped from 16 million euros in 1986 to 820 million euros in 2001, and since 1997 Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus with France. The top five Vietnamese exports to this market include footwear (362.4 million euros in 2001), garments and textiles (150.1 million euros), coffee (43.9 million euros), leather goods (40.2 million euros) and precious stones (29.9 million euros).

According to the Vietnamese trade representative office in France, Vietnam's export turnover to France this year could rise 21.4% over last year to nearly 1 billion euros.

France is also a major foreign investor in Vietnam, ranking sixth among more than 50 foreign investors here after Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, France has 115 projects in operation worth US$2.04 billion. Major French investors include Electricit‚ de France, France Telecom, Alcatel and Bourbon. France is also the second biggest aid donor to Vietnam after Japan with some US$120 million in aid annually.

By Tran Le Thuy - Financial Times Information Limited - July 25, 2002