Vietnam and France have agreed to speed up the signing of the education cooperation agreement between the two countries to promote cooperation in education.

This was announced at a farewell ceremony for French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery in Hanoi this week.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son thanked the ambassador for his active and effective support of Vietnam’s education sector during his tenure, especially in French language teaching, and for helping to link higher education institutions of the two sides.

Son added that the bilingual and intensive French program had been taught in 12 provinces and cities of Vietnam, with 7,500 out of 38,000 French students nationwide. With such a positive number of students studying French, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) hopes the French Embassy will continue sending volunteer teachers to teach French in high schools in Vietnam.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son receives Nicolas Warnery, Ambassador of the Republic of France to Vietnam. Photo: MoET

As the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has approved the FSPI-R project to strengthen technical exchanges for French language teaching programs in Vietnam, MoET is coordinating with the French Embassy to establish a group of experts to research and update the content of French language teaching in bilingual classes.

The minister also expressed his hope that the ambassador will continue succeeding in his new position. The new ambassador, Olivier Brochet, is expected to arrive in Vietnam in September 2023 to take over from Nicolas Warnery.

At the end of 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid an official visit to France. The visit comes at a time when the Vietnam-France strategic partnership is experiencing positive growth. In 2023, the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.

In talks with his French counterpart Jean Castex in Paris, PM Chinh stressed the importance of relations with France in Vietnam's foreign policy to take bilateral ties to a new height.

The Prime Minister suggested that France maintain and further strengthen bilateral cooperation in education and training. He hoped France would create more favorable conditions for students to exchange, study, and research in France and increase the number of scholarships.

The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) has become a diverse space offering Vietnam more growth and integration opportunities.

Vietnamese participants at the 2022 Francophonie weekend.Photo: VNA

Founded in 1970, the OIF today has nearly 100 members and observers on five continents. With 1.2 billion people, the Francophone Community represents 16% of the world's population and 16.5% of the world's total wealth.

Vietnam joined the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), the predecessor of the OIF, in 1979. Since then, the relationship between Vietnam and the Francophone Community has constantly developed. 

Over the past 30 years, Vietnam has received valuable support from the Francophone Community. It has made efforts to promote its cooperation with the Francophone community and to be an active and responsible community member, playing a key role in the Francophone movement in the Asia-Pacific region.

The OIF and its executive agencies have coordinated with several Francophone countries to implement many projects in Vietnam in French language teaching, scientific research, technology, economics, trade, pharmaceuticals, and law.

With a diversification policy and multilateralization of foreign relations, Vietnam attaches great importance to the Francophone Community. It has actively contributed to the common activities of society as a responsible and active member of the Francophone Community.