(VNA): Vietnam and France issued a joint communique in Paris on June 9 at the end of the France visit by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh. The following is the full text of the communique:

1. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nong Duc Manh paid an official visit to France from June 6-9 at the invitation of President Jacques Chirac and the French authorities.

2. Talks and meetings have affirmed both sides' common desire to enhance the Vietnam-France traditional friendship, comprehensive, long-term and trusting co-operation and combine these ties with dynamic regional spaces such as the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

3. The high-level exchanges have permitted the two sides to affirm their close viewpoints on big international issues, their support for the United Nations' central role and desire to build a world of peace, stability, democracy, equality and co-operation for development where human rights are respected. Both sides asserted they would actively contribute to the success of the upcoming UN Summit in September and support UN reform to enhance the organisation's capability in dealing with the present-day challenges. The two sides affirmed their support for peaceful solutions to international disputes through negotiations and condemned terrorism, saying that the fight against terrorism must be conducted within the framework of international laws.

4. The two sides hailed the success of the fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit that was held in Hanoi from Oct. 7-9, 2004 and re-affirmed their desire to bring Europe and Asia closer through common initiatives, contributing to enhancing dialogues between ASEAN and the EU.

5. The two sides vowed to continue deepening bilateral security dialogues and welcomed the result of the second dialogue session on regional and international security and defence that was held in Paris on May 12 and 13.

6. Vietnam and France affirmed their wish to build an open and equal multilateral trade system, facilitating developing countries' integration into the world economy. France asserted its absolute support for Vietnam's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

7. General Secretary Nong Duc Manh thanked France for its assistance to Vietnam in many fields, and its support for Vietnam's efforts to strengthen co-operation with the European Union and international organisations. France ranks first among European investors and second among bilateral donors for development in Vietnam. France showed it had paid attention to Vietnam's doi moi (renovation) policy and affirmed it would support Vietnam's strategy for development, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, and continue providing development aid to Vietnam in collaboration with other European partners and international donors.

8. High-level talks and meetings have accelerated on-going projects in tourism, transport (such as a project on tram route in Hanoi), aviation, the environment, energy, telecommunications, infrastructure and financial services. The two sides applauded the recently-signed contract for the Dung Quat oil refinery and agreements signed during the visit, including a contract to supply equipment and transfer technology for a project on natural resource and environment supervision, and a protocol on implementing the treaty on co-operation in tourism. The two sides agreed to accelerate the signing of a quadripartite agreement between Vietnam, France, Mali and FAO, and affirmed their determination to strive for the development of the South-South co-operation in the spirit of the recent Asia-Africa Summit in Bandung, Indonesia.

9. In order to ensure the economic, commercial and investment relations keep pace with the political and cultural relations between the two countries, the two sides decided to establish a high-level consultancy council for the development of bilateral economic co-operation, mainly based on the Vietnam-France Economic and Financial Forum with the participation of the French Development Agency and concerned public and individual partners of the two countries. The council's function will be to direct, accelerate and mobilise all possible resources to carry out concrete co-operation projects.

10. To support the implementation of the millennium development goals, France confirmed determination to go on with its co-operation in agriculture, food security, fighting epidemics, especially HIV/AIDS, education for all, water supply, infrastructure improvement and production development, and to respect the Johannesburg principles on fighting hunger and poverty and on sustainable development.

11. The two sides showed their common attachment to the Francophone Community and the implementation of the strategic framework adopted at the 10th Francophone Summit in Ouagadougou from November 26-27, 2004. They also expressed their delight at the development of the French language in Vietnam, which has become the  country boasting the largest number of people with certificates in French language skills in Asia. Vietnam affirmed its desire to promote co-operation in language training and is ready to offer French schools a suitable guidance in conformity with the Vietnamese law, in the interests of French and French-speaking students in Vietnam.

12. The two sides are pleased by the growing co-operation between localities of the two countries, which is clearly manifested by the 6th Conference on co-operation between Vietnamese and French localities to be held in Hue from June 15-18, 2005.

13. Attaching importance to boosting cultural exchanges and mutual understanding, the two sides applauded the organisation of an exhibition entitled "Vietnam's art treasure: Cham sculpture" in October 2005 at the Guimet National Museum of Asia Arts in Paris, as well as the setting up of a French culture centre in Hue and the organisation of "Vietnamese culture days in France" in 2007.

14. The two sides reiterated that the adoption of children from Vietnam demonstrates the French people's attachment to Vietnam and the close relations between the two nations. They reaffirmed their determination to respect regulations on openness, transparency and safety in child adoption in the spirit of an agreement on child adoption signed between Vietnam and France on February 1, 2000. The two sides praised the outcomes of a meeting of the committee for monitoring child adoption in Paris last February, particularly the prospect of Vietnam joining the Hague Convention and of France setting up a child adoption agency.

16. General Secretary Nong Duc Manh sincerely thanked President Jacques Chirac, and the French authorities and people for their warm hospitality. General Secretary Nong Duc Manh invited President Jacques Chirac to visit Vietnam again at a convenient time. President Jacques Chirac thanked him and accepted the invitation with pleasure.