The government of the newly elected French President Francoise Hollande will create more activities to strengthen the relations between France and Vietnam within the framework of the Asia-Europe cooperation.

Newly elected French President Francoise Hollande

This was said by Claude Blancemaison, former Ambassador to Vietnam from 1989-1993 under the late French President Francois Mitterand, who is now the French representative of Asia-Europe Foundation after the 2012 French presidential election.

Blancemaison stressed the importance of promoting cooperation with Asian member countries, especially Vietnam saying that South East Asian economies now have comparatively fast growth rates and very competitive markets.

More and more French businesses are investing in China, India and Vietnam, he added.

The new President will attend an Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) in Vientiane, Laos in November where he is expected to pay more attention to the relations between France and other European countries and between Europe and ASEAN, where Vietnam hold an important position, he said.

The former Ambassador said that the win in the recent election by leftwing-candidate Francois Hollande is a good sign for the Vietnam-France ties especially when 2013-2014 will be Vietnam-France cultural exchange years. The new French government is expected to create fresh outlooks for the two nations’ relations, he noted.