Discours du Consul général lors du séminaire sur l’économie bleue

21/10/2019

1/ Dear representatives of the Government of Vietnam, state-owned enterprises, private companies and associations, dear representatives of the French companies, dear participants, XIN CHAO.

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all this morning at the Residence of France.

2/ The maritime sector is a major foundation of the global economy. For centuries, it has enabled the development of trade and relationship between countries and between peoples.

France and Vietnam, both maritime countries, know this very well

3/ France boasts a coastline of over 7 000 kms and an exclusive economic zone of 10 million square kilometers (the world’s second largest).

A quarter of the world’s maritime traffic passes along France’s shores.

300 000 people work in France’s maritime sector, for nearly 400 companies. A good representation of these French companies are with us this morning.

4/ Vietnam, with a coastline of 3 000 km and an exclusive economic zone of 1 million square kilometers, is also a major maritime country.

The « Blue Economy » of Vietnam includes seaports, shipyards, tourism, fisheries, offshore wind farms and also oil and gas. These are golden assets for Vietnam and a major engine of the economy.

The 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam designed a maritime strategy until 2030 with a vision until 2045. It puts a strong emphasis on port development, maritime security, preservation of maritime resources and the revival of a local maritime culture.

5/ France and Vietnam have a very long history of cooperation

France would like to deepen her cooperation with Vietnam.

All the French companies here with us this morning are keen on establishing partnerships with Vietnamese counterparts in a large range of maritime activities : port and ship construction, logistics, port management, navigation services, safety, shipyards maintenance and so on.

BOLLORÉ Ports is a global port operator with 21 port concessions worldwide.

NAVAL GROUP would like to cooperate in maritime surveillance and infrastructure protection.

UNSEENLABS in maritime traffic observation.

CMA CGM is building a seaport near HCMC with Gemadept,

PIRIOU has a shipyard in HCMC and building « made in Vietnam » ships for French customers.

LOUIS DREYFUS PORTS established a team in Vietnam recently.

Today, many Vietnamese stakeholders have made us the great pleasure to join us, such as VINAMARINE, VINALINES, SAIGON NEW PORT, GEMADEPT, PORTCOAST, SAIGON PORT, HAI MINH SHIPYARD and SP-PSA TERMINAL.

I thank you again for your participation.

6/ I am confident that the interactions between the French delegates and the Vietnamese experts of the maritime sector will be fruitful, and lead to a win-win cooperation in the long-run.

The team of the Consulate General of France and Business France are very keen on helping to build such strong relationships. You can count on our support to make the most of the opportunities you will jointly identify.

Have a great seminar. Xin Cam On