France has defined agriculture and food security, infrastructure development, and manufacturing as three priority areas for cooperation with Vietnam from 2006 through 2010, the French envoy in Hanoi said Thursday.

Ambassador Jean-Francois Blarel promised at a press briefing in the Vietnamese capital that France would help Vietnam develop transport systems including air, rail, and urban transport, support in energy development, strengthen its capacity to protect water sources, treat rubbish, and minimize air pollution.

He also pledged to assist its financial services and small- and medium-sized enterprises besides cooperating in AIDS prevention, manpower training, culture, education and training, and public administration.

Two tertiary education centers would be established in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh in October this year to train students in French with syllabi from prestigious French universities, he said.

However, he said, 75-80 percent of French financial assistance in the five-year period would go into those three priority areas. France has pledged aid worth 340 million euro (US$411 million) in 2006.

Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in late 1973 Vietnam and France have maintained regular exchanges of visits at various levels and signed a slew of cooperation agreements.

France imports around $500 million worth of Vietnamese products annually, mainly garments, textiles, footwear, and coffee. Vietnam buys French goods worth over $400 million, mostly machinery and equipment.

Source: Communist Party of Vietnam, VNA
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