On February 12, 2025, in Paris, the 3rd France–Southeast Asia Business Cooperation Forum, organized by Business France, attracted nearly 200 representatives from enterprises, economic development agencies, and experts from France, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. The forum was co-chaired by Mr. Laurent Saint-Martin, French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, and Mr. Bui Hoang Phuong, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications of Vietnam, with the aim of promoting economic cooperation and expanding bilateral trade relations. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Hoai Bac, President of the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT), attended the forum.
Overview of the 3rd France–Southeast Asia Business Forum. Photo: MIC
In his address at the event, Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong emphasized that Vietnam possesses abundant resources, a high-quality workforce, and is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. With a population of over 100 million and a highly skilled workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Vietnam is increasingly becoming an attractive destination for major global technology corporations. Thanks to a stable policy environment and free trade agreements with many strategic partners, Vietnam has attracted expanded investments from leading technology groups such as NVIDIA, Amkor, Samsung, Qualcomm, Synopsys, Cadence, and Marvell, thereby strengthening its position in the global supply chain.
Vietnam–France relations currently enjoy favorable conditions for further development, particularly following the upgrade of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the official visit to France by General Secretary and President To Lam in October 2024. Cooperation between the two countries is being expanded across multiple areas, notably high technology, digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), renewable energy, and transport infrastructure.
French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade Laurent Saint-Martin and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Bui Hoang Phuong take a commemorative photo with Vietnamese delegates attending the forum
Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong noted that France is one of Vietnam’s important investment partners, with many French enterprises having achieved success in the Vietnamese market. He expressed his expectation that more French corporations and businesses will increase their investments in Vietnam in the coming period, leveraging market advantages and expanding cooperation across various sectors.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Hoai Bac, President of PTIT, attending the 3rd France–Southeast Asia Business Cooperation Forum
On the same day, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Hoai Bac, President of PTIT, held a bilateral working session with Mr. Jean-Paul Smets, Chief Executive Officer of Rapid Space International (France), to discuss cooperation in research and product development in the field of 5G technology. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Tran Manh Hung, Science and Technology Commercial Counselor of Vietnam in France.
Rapid Space International is the largest open-source software producer in Europe and a founding member of the SimpeRAN Alliance, playing a leading role in deploying 4G/5G networks for service providers and in establishing global standards for vRAN. The bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two institutions is expected to open up significant opportunities for collaboration in research and development of 5G technologies.
