With its political and economic advantages, France would like to expand and deepen cooperative relations with Vietnam, said French ambassador to Vietnam Jean- Francois Blarel at a press conference Monday.

Besides agriculture, infrastructure, tertiary education, French language training and healthcare, France will give priorities to some fields to be identified by the Vietnamese government as major ones in the country's socioeconomic development plan in the 2006- 2010 period, the ambassador said.

France and Vietnam are determined to bring their economic cooperative relations to the same level as political ties, Blarel said, noting that they "have recorded significant achievements in many fields, including transport, tourism, telecommunications, aviation, energy, environment and finance services."

France is offering greater assistance, mainly technical ones, to Vietnam, helping it issue legal documents relating to its accession to the World Trade Organization, and its development of nuclear energy for civil use some time around the year 2020, he noted, adding that his country will enhance its role in training Vietnam's prominent individuals.

As for issues regarding the United Nations Security Council reforms, "France and Vietnam have similar viewpoints," Blarel said, noting that French President Jacques Chirac, in principle, supports Vietnam's bid for the council's non-permanent member in the 2008-2009 term.

Source: Xinhua