Paris, July 12, 2026 – The Europe Today: Việtnam and France have agreed to strengthen parliamentary cooperation by enhancing legislative and oversight exchanges and expanding collaboration across a wide range of strategic sectors, reaffirming their commitment to deepening the Việtnam–France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The understanding was reached during talks in Paris between Lê Tân Tới, Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Committee for National Defence, Security and Foreign Affairs, and Jean-Michel Jacques, Chairman of the French National Assembly’s National Defence and Armed Forces Committee.
The meeting followed the French parliamentary committee’s successful working visit to Việt Nam in June and reflected the shared determination of both countries to advance practical cooperation between their legislative bodies.
Lê Tân Tới noted that bilateral relations have continued to strengthen since the two nations elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He highlighted that France is Việt Nam’s first Comprehensive Strategic Partner within the European Union (EU) and one of its leading partners in Europe.
He described economic, trade and investment cooperation as a key pillar of bilateral relations while emphasizing significant opportunities to expand collaboration in strategic infrastructure, science and technology, defence industry, energy, high-tech agriculture, education and training.
Building on previous discussions, the Vietnamese side proposed enhancing cooperation in maritime security, the peaceful use of nuclear energy, space technology, seabed resource exploration, agriculture, education and advanced technologies. Tới said these sectors offer strong potential for sharing legislative and oversight expertise while translating the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into tangible outcomes.
Việt Nam also proposed maintaining regular exchanges between the two parliamentary committees and strengthening cooperation in defence, security, defence industry, dual-use technologies, cybersecurity, maritime security, critical infrastructure protection, crisis management and responses to non-traditional security challenges.
The Vietnamese delegation further expressed hope that France would continue supporting human resource development, knowledge transfer and stronger links between businesses and research institutions in areas such as peaceful nuclear energy, aviation, aerospace, defence industry and marine research.
On Việt Nam–EU relations, Tới called on French lawmakers to support the effective implementation of the EU–Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), encourage the ratification of the EU–Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by the French Parliament, and advocate for the early removal of the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood exports.
Jean-Michel Jacques welcomed the progress in bilateral cooperation and praised his committee’s recent visit to Việt Nam. He revealed that he had written to the French minister responsible for agriculture, urging French and EU authorities to support the review process aimed at lifting the “yellow card” on Vietnamese seafood.
Jacques also proposed exploring a sister-city partnership between Điện Biên Phủ and Caen and strengthening cooperation between the Điện Biên Phủ Victory Museum and the Caen Memorial Museum to promote historical and cultural exchanges.
He further announced plans for the French parliamentary committee to host an international scientific seminar next year focusing on maritime and marine challenges, including the sea-based economy, logistics and subsea cable infrastructure, and extended an invitation to the Vietnamese committee to participate.
Welcoming the initiative, Tới said he would report the proposal to the leadership of Việt Nam’s National Assembly and provide a formal response.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining regular dialogue and expanding practical cooperation in their respective fields, further strengthening parliamentary ties and contributing to the continued development of the Việt Nam–France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
