Chirac calls on Vietnam to be "audacious" in reforms
PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac called on Vietnam to be "ever more
audacious" in its reforms at a gala dinner given at the Elysee Palace
late Monday for Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong.
Luong earlier Monday kicked off a four-day state visit to France aimed
at boosting commercial ties with Hanoi's former colonial master and
leading European investor.
"Globalization imposes everywhere a modernization of society and
institutions," Chirac said in a toast. "This sums up efforts made by
Vietnam in opening up to the world, in modernizing its society, in
calling for more individual initiative and in mobilizing its numerous,
talented young people." "One must be ever more audacious," Chirac
insisted.
As he had done earlier during two hours of talks with Luong, Chirac
called for a strengthening of the partnership between Paris and Hanoi
and said France backed Vietnam's candidature for the World Trade
Organization.
The dinner was attended by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and
several other ministers, as well as leading industrialists.
At his meeting with Luong, Chirac called North Korea's nuclear weapons
program "a serious problem" for Southeast Asia, and said "a strong
reaction" was needed to address the situation, his spokeswoman
Catherine Colonna said.
It is the first official visit to France by a Vietnamese head of state
since former president and Communist Party founding father Ho Chi Minh
travelled to Paris in 1946.
Luong's talks with Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin
were expected to focus on bilateral economic and trade relations, as
well as efforts to promote regional dialogue between Europe and Asia,
according to diplomatic sources.
Also on the agenda will be the purchase by Vietnam Airlines of five
A-321 Airbus aircraft. The state-owned carrier is expected to sign the
213 million dollar (euro) deal soon.
"President Luong's visit marks an important step in the development of
the Franco-Vietnamese partnership," said French deputy foreign
ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.
France is the top non-Asian investor in Vietnam, with total
investments of more than two billion euros (dollars), according to
Vietnamese figures, making it the sixth largest investor in the
country.
Last year, trade between Vietnam and France reached more than 1.1
billion euros (dollars).
France is Vietnam's second-largest development partner after Japan,
with aid totalling 72 million euros in 2001.
The emotional issue of the adoption of Vietnamese children by French
couples was also expected to figure in the discussions between Luong
and Chirac, diplomats said.
French couples have adopted about half the Vietnamese babies who have
found homes with foreign families since the early 1990s. Nearly 6,000
Vietnamese infants were adopted by French parents between 1995 and
1999 alone.
However, Paris banned the adoption of Vietnamese children in April
1999 after it was revealed that some "orphans" had living parents who
were duped into thinking their offspring would return home after a
short holiday.
Paris and Hanoi signed an agreement in February 2000 to resume
adoptions, but they did not begin again until July last year.
Luong is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Raffarin, National Assembly
speaker Jean-Louis Debre, Senate leader Christian Poncelet and
business leaders in both Paris and central-eastern Lyon during his
stay.
His trip to France comes after a flurry of state visits to Iran,
Namibia, Congo and Angola following his participation earlier this
month in the ninth summit of French-speaking nations in the Lebanese
capital Beirut.
Agence France Presse - October 29, 2002
President Luong visits France to bolster relations
HO CHI MINH CITY - Vietnam's President Tran Duc Luong left Congo for France
yesterday for an official four-day visit at the invitation of French
counterpart Jacques Chirac, and the two leaders entered official talks
in Paris upon Luong's arrival.
Luong's visit to France is the first by a Vietnamese head of state to
the European country since the two sides established diplomatic
relations in 1973. Late French President Francois Mitterrand and
President Jacques Chirac paid official visits to Vietnam in 1993 and
1997, respectively.
Official announcement from the French General Consulate at a press
conference last night said the two men were to discuss various
cooperative aspects, ranging from France's support for Vietnam to
enter the World Trade Organization, numerous bilateral trade and
investment commitments, and the establishment of a French university
in Vietnam to the issue of adopted children. International issues of
mutual concern were also to be tabled at the high-ranking meeting.
An announcement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Luong's
visit is an important landmark in the development of France-Vietnam
partnership relations. The visit will also help strengthen relations
between localities and business circles of the two countries, it says.
Apart from the official talks with the
French president, Luong is scheduled to have meetings with top French
officials and businesses.
France has maintained close links with Vietnam in various fields,
especially in trade and investment.
The French General Consulate said yesterday France was currently the
biggest European investor in Vietnam, with US $ 2 billion pledged via
200 projects.
It also is one of Vietnam's biggest trading partners. Two-way trade
last year was worth US $ 1.135 billion, with Vietnam enjoying a trade
surplus of over US $ 500 million.
By lan Anh - The Saigon Time Daily - October 29, 2002
|