HCMC – French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse will pay a state visit to Vietnam from May 25 to 27 at the invitation of Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Macron, who has served as France’s president since May 2016, previously held key roles including financial inspector at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, deputy secretary general of the Presidential Office, and Minister of Economy and Finance.
Vietnam and France established diplomatic relations in April 1973 and elevated their ties to a strategic partnership in 2013. In October 2024, Party General Secretary To Lam visited France, where the two sides agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. France became the first European Union member to reach this highest level of ties with Vietnam.
France is currently Vietnam’s fifth-largest trading partner within the EU, with bilateral trade reaching US$5.42 billion in 2024, up 12.9% from the previous year.
France also ranks as the 16th-largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with 700 active projects and total registered capital of US$3.95 billion. Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms have 20 projects in France with total registered investment of around US$38.93 million.
France is the leading European provider of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, while Vietnam is the second-largest recipient of French ODA globally.
