ANKARA (Turkiye) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Vietnam on Sunday, marking the first visit by a French leader to the Southeast Asian nation in a decade, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
Macron’s three-day state visit includes meetings with Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and President Luong Cuong, as well as attendance at a signing ceremony for several bilateral agreements, according to local English-language news outlet Vietnam News.
This is Macron’s first visit to Vietnam since taking office in 2017.
The trip follows To Lam’s official visit to France in October last year, during which both countries elevated their relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
France and Vietnam established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level in April 1973.
In recent years, the two countries have strengthened economic and trade ties, with France currently being Vietnam’s fifth-largest trading partner in Europe.
Bilateral trade reached US$5.42 billion last year, with US$1.79 billion recorded in the first four months of this year.
Following his Vietnam visit, Macron will travel to Jakarta to meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, before heading to Singapore, where he is expected to deliver a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday.
The tour forms part of France’s strategy to deepen economic engagement and counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. — BERNAMA-ANADOLU
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