French Ambassador Olivier Brochet: 14th National Party Congress takes place at a pivotal moment for Vietnam
WVR - In an interview with The World and Vietnam Report about the significance of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet affirmed France's strong support for Vietnam's strategic directions at the 14th National Party Congress. He also committed to accompanying the S-shaped country in key areas such as green transition, strategic infrastructure, and high-quality human resource training.
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| General Secretary To Lam meets French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to Vietnam, in May 2025. (Photo: Minh Nhat) |
A beacon amid global turbulence
According to Ambassador Olivier Brochet, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam takes place at a pivotal moment for Vietnam, both domestically and internationally. This marks the conclusion of a tightly organized political process, during which Vietnam has accelerated economic and administrative reforms.
In 2025, Vietnam passed several important laws related to investment, economic governance, and public policy. These reforms are closely monitored by international investors, including those from France and other European countries.
The Congress also occurs amid an increasingly complex international environment, characterized by rising violence in international relations, the resurgence of power competition, fragmentation trends, and profound, unpredictable instabilities. In this context, France and Vietnam share core principles such as trust and respect for partners, sovereignty safeguarding, and maintaining multilateralism to seek collective solutions for global issues. These are essential elements to ensure stability, predictability, and long-term development.
In the spirit of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, France reaffirms its policy to continue supporting Vietnam in a concrete and substantive manner, through reform support, funding structural projects, and building long-term partnerships in key sectors of Vietnam's economy. These approaches have been consistently pursued by France for over 40 years.
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| French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet. (Photo: Thu Trang) |
Assessing how the Congress's orientations might impact Vietnam's ability to integrate regionally and internationally, Ambassador Brochet stated that Vietnam has clearly defined its development goals for 2030 and 2045, combining socio-economic development, green transition, and digital economy. This trajectory contributes to enhancing the regional and international role Vietnam aspires to assume for increased stability.
Furthermore, according to the Ambassador, France strongly supports Vietnam's increasingly prominent international role, primarily through specific cooperative activities on global issues. Specifically, in the field of climate change, France supports Vietnam's commitments within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), with a contribution of 500 million euros through the French Development Agency (AFD), implemented into projects on grid and energy infrastructure. In transportation and infrastructure, France wishes to accompany Vietnam in large-scale projects such as railways, urban connectivity, and civil aviation.
Ambassador Brochet also emphasized Vietnam's increasingly active role in international peace and stability. Alongside the European Union, France supports Vietnam's United Nations Peacekeeping Department and appreciates the S-shaped country's hosting of the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime. France also closely cooperates with Vietnam when it assumes the role of Chair of the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Additionally, Vietnam has shown a strong commitment to major multilateral alliances on global public goods by ratifying the High Seas Treaty, effective from January 17.
The journey after 40 years of Renewal and priorities for the coming period
From a long-term perspective, Ambassador Olivier Brochet highly appreciates Vietnam's achievements after 40 years of Renewal. Since 1986, Vietnam has undergone profound transformation, significantly reduced poverty, modernized infrastructure, and diversified international partnerships.
France has also accompanied Vietnam from very early on, right after the country's reunification, through investments in cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation. Prime Minister Pham Van Dong's visit to France in 1977 and the signing of cooperation agreements in these areas laid an important foundation for bilateral relations.
In the following decades, France continued to support Vietnam's integration into European and international frameworks, notably by supporting Vietnam's hosting of the 1997 Francophone Summit and promoting the EU-Vietnam partnership from as early as 1995.
"Today, Vietnam has become a dynamic economy, deeply integrated into global value chains and holds a central role in ASEAN. France reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting this trajectory through economic, academic, scientific, and institutional cooperation," Ambassador Brochet noted.
Referring to the 2021–2025 period in Vietnam, the Ambassador described it as a major test of resilience and solidarity. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a strong healthcare system and resilient supply chains. Vietnam-France healthcare cooperation during this time holds very specific and humane significance: Vietnam supported France with masks, while France provided vaccines to Vietnam.
In the coming time, the Ambassador affirmed that investment in skills, training, and research will be a top priority. The upgrading of Vietnam's economy creates a significant demand for high-quality human resources, and France is well-positioned to meet this demand in higher education, science, and technology. Over the past 30 years, Vietnam-France training cooperation has achieved many outstanding results, with three exemplary programs: the French-Vietnamese Center for Management Training, the High-Quality Engineering Training Program in Vietnam, and the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi.
Alongside this, green transition is indispensable for sustainable development, especially as Vietnam faces significant impacts from climate change. The Ambassador also recalled the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement celebrated in Hanoi in December 2025, demonstrating a shared commitment to continued cooperation on a multilateral basis. Additionally, France is supporting Vietnam in achieving its carbon neutrality goal by 2050, particularly through JETP. The first two projects funded by AFD were implemented in 2025, including 67 million euros for the power transmission network and 76 million euros for the Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project – a key project for integrating renewable energy.
New momentum for bilateral cooperation
According to Ambassador Brochet, since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2024, Vietnam-France cooperation has made significant progress. Specifically, France has increased its support for Vietnam in energy transition, infrastructure development, and the implementation of high-level training programs. In transportation, agreements and memorandums of understanding signed during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit have opened up an enhanced cooperation framework in railways, aviation, and transportation infrastructure. In defense, the Letter of Intent between the two countries' Ministries of Defense reflects a shared commitment to enhancing cooperation for regional peace, stability, and Vietnam's strategic autonomy.
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| The capital Hanoi brilliantly welcomes the 14th Party Congress. (Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper) |
Particularly, addressing the expectations of French businesses regarding the legal and economic orientations to be determined at the 14th National Party Congress, the Ambassador noted that what the business community from the Western European nation most anticipates is clarity and predictability.
"Businesses need a clear framework on procedures, taxes, licenses, and finance," the Ambassador emphasized, citing a EuroCham survey with over 70% of European businesses in Vietnam confident in the economic prospects of the S-shaped country, and most planning to maintain or increase their investment here.
Therefore, France is also collaborating with Vietnam and European partners to ensure administrative reforms yield substantial results, shorten processing times, increase transparency, and enhance enforcement capacity – factors that directly impact investment and employment.
Additionally, sharing the outlook for Vietnam in the next 5-10 years, Ambassador Olivier Brochet used three adjectives: Ambitious, as Vietnam sets high goals and commits to upgrading its economy; Structured, with reforms implemented to enhance state efficiency and respect international commitments; and Open, as Vietnam continues to diversify partnerships and actively engage internationally.
On the occasion of the 14th National Party Congress, the Ambassador also wished Vietnam and its people great success in this important event, contributing to the country's prosperity and stability. Also, during the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, a symbol of renewal and development momentum, the French Ambassador expressed confidence in Vietnam's successful future; affirming that France is ready to cooperate with Vietnam to turn the Southeast Asian nation's priorities into concrete achievements, in a spirit of mutual respect, trust, and long-term partnership.
