Paris (VNA) - A semanar on Viet Nam was organised by the France-Viet Nam Friendship Association (AAFV) in Paris on Tuesday evening.

The seminar, entitled "Viet Nam today and tomorrow in Southeast Asia", drew a large audience of French and Vietnamese working and studying in France.

Many speakers presented their reports highlighting the Vietnamese people's endeavour to overcome untold difficulties and hardships during the war and peace time. In his report "Viet Nam: from efforts to surpass economic embargo to its bid to join the WTO", French economist Philippe de Lalande praised Viet Nam's success in socio-economic development and international integration.

Meanwhile, Bertrand de Harting highlighted Viet Nam's tradition of preserving its national cultural identity despite long periods of foreign rule.

Addressing the audience, Col. Nguyen Huy Hoa, Vietnamese chief military attache, reviewed the Vietnamese army's victory in the struggle for national independence as well as its involvement in economic development to rebuild the country. He said after the war, Viet Nam's army was reorganised with a cut by one-third of the total troops.