VietNamNet brings you the content of this interview.
 
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung is about to pay an official visit to France. Previously, many high-ranking officials of Vietnam visited France. What will be the difference in this visit compared to previous ones, in your opinion?
 
For the new government of Vietnam, meeting French counterparts is very significant. First of all, this is a political visit. Leaders of the two countries both have correlative five-year terms so these are groups of leaders who will control the relationship between France and Vietnam for the next five years.
 
According to our information, this will be the first time all four high-ranking officials of France, the President, the Prime Minister, the Chairmen of the Senate and the Lower House, will receive the Vietnamese Prime Minister. What does France expect from this visit?
 
Firstly, France hopes that the upcoming visit by the Vietnamese Prime Minister will strengthen political dialogues between the two sides. We have many things to do in the fields of politics and culture. Of course we have done many jobs well but we can do better.
 
So I think that the two sides expect that the visit by the Vietnamese Prime Minister will strengthen bilateral relations in culture, economics, industry and partnership in all fields.
 
Vietnam is now in the lobbying process to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2008-2009 term. What is the point of view of France on this issue? What does France expect from the role of Vietnam in the UN Security Council?
 
Our expectation is similar to that of other permanent members of the UN Security Council.
 
All countries feel that they are responsible for the international community and they want to participate in the UN Security Council. For Vietnam, this is the first time the country has been nominated to this position. The thing that many people expect from Vietnam as well as from France or other countries which are members of the UN Security Council is how to cope with crises in the world. This is a common viewpoint related to international security on how to seek the highest agreement in the council.
 
About our attitude, under the common rules, nominees must be introduced by countries in the region. Asia has recommended Vietnam and we respect the opinion of Asian countries. We are also pleased that Vietnam is building up its international position. Vietnam’s success at the Francophone summit, APEC summit, ASEAN conferences, and Vietnam’s accession to the WTO are cementing its reputation.
 
We wish for cooperation with Vietnam. In Paris we received Vietnamese diplomats who came to talk with experts of the UN Security Council. Vietnamese diplomats in charge of this issue speak French very well.
 
In the first meeting with Vietnamese journalists in early August 2007, you mentioned an ambitious agenda, in which you want to create an impressive summation of France-Vietnam economic-trade relations. Where will you start from to realise it?
 
In life we always have ambitions and want to realise them, though in fact not all ambitions are reached.
 
A high jumper will make high records if he set a high target for himself. We have defined together the partnership in priority fields like energy, infrastructure, and communication.
 
Before coming to Vietnam, did you meet with big French companies? What interests of French investors have you brought to Vietnam?
 
I’ve met many businessmen and those meetings are a significant part in my job. My relationships in previous positions can serve France-Vietnam cooperation ties.
 
I cannot advertise this or that company or name them here because it is unfair. However, there are investors who have big projects in Vietnam that told me: “Are you about to take office in Vietnam? We are very interested in it.”
 
One of the potential investment fields of France in Vietnam is telecom and actually French companies were in Vietnam very early. However, your predecessor, Ambassador Blarel, regretted that the presence of French telecom firms in Vietnam was under expectation. They lost some big contracts. In you opinion, what lessons should French enterprises learn from this?
 
We are living in a competitive, transparent and public world. It is an understandable fact if Vietnam doesn’t choose France but another partner. That’s the playing rule. As the French Ambassador, I’m regretful for that. The lesson is how to strengthen our presence and how to have the most attractive suggestion to the partner.

A reader from France asks: cooperation between France and Vietnam is still under potentials and expectations. As the new French Ambassador to Vietnam, what fields of cooperation will you focus on during your term?
 
I have talked about the fields of priority that Vietnam and France will promote but I would like to make a comparison like this: a marriage needs the agreement of both sides. A contract needs the agreement of the French and Vietnamese governments, not the French side only.
 
Secondly, Vietnam is now a member of the WTO and the WTO rules require the opening of market and fair competition. In the construction field, for example, as transport fee is an important element, a French company cannot offer a competitive price compared to that of Vietnamese companies or companies of the countries that are located closer to Vietnam than France.
 
I think we have many opportunities for cooperation in hi-tech areas, such as automobiles and atomic energy, etc. We want to develop cooperation in technologies which are our advantages and we can easily transfer that technology to Vietnam.
 
In the terms of President F. Mitterrand and J. Chirac, France attached importance to Vietnam and gave priority to the relations with Vietnam. Will France still attach importance to Vietnam in the term of President Sarkozy?
 
We have commitments and we are realising them. About the cooperation relations with Vietnam from now to 2010 we have also defined an itinerary and that’s our commitment on finance.
 
As for ODA, France is the second-largest ODA provider to Vietnam after Japan and the largest ODA provider in Europe with Eur1.4 billion from now to 2010. This will not change. You can see that France’s attention to Vietnam is still very great.
 
I want to emphasise that the Vietnamese Prime Minister is one of the first leaders out of Europe visiting France. Though I still have one more summer vacation I have to come to Vietnam immediately to prepare for this visit. I was in Romania on July 28 but I was here on August 4.
 
Looking at the schedule of high-ranking meetings of French leaders, you will see that Vietnam is a top priority partner of Vietnam. Through just this evidence, we can realise the significance of the France-Vietnam relationship.
 
When you were in Paris and Bucharest, what did you think about Vietnam and now you are here, how do you feel about our country?
 
I’ve read a lot about Vietnam and talked to many people who have lived in Vietnam. I think our experience can contribute highly to cooperation in literature and science as well as investment and economics.
 
As a diplomat, I go to a new country each 3-4 years. In Hanoi, I feel very comfortable in my daily life and I’m impressed with the dynamic young people here.
 
Your wife is partly Vietnamese. How did she feel when she learned you were appointed as the French Ambassador to Vietnam?
 
I immediately accepted the appointment. Normally I spend one or two days to think of the new job and to discuss with my family because each time moving, our life will have changes. But I know that my wife loves to come to Vietnam. When I informed her about the appointment, she didn’t believe me and she thought that I was joking.
 
Yesterday, when we were having dinner at a small restaurant near the French Embassy, my wife said: “I still don’t believe that I’m in Vietnam. It’s like in a dream.”
 
My wife goes to markets everyday to learn about Vietnamese people. She is studying Vietnamese.
 
Returning to the Vietnam-France relationship, President F. Mitterrand said that their history divided but also pulled the two countries nearer to each other. It is said that Vietnam and France have deep sympathy in culture. For many generations of Vietnamese people, France has a special position but for the young, it seems that English-American culture is younger and more fascinating. As the French Ambassador, what will you do to refresh the image of France in Vietnam?
 
This is the not the issue of age otherwise your question will immediately weed out me from the game (smile). We are talking about cooperation, studying and how to help Vietnamese young people prepare for their futures.
 
As I have said, I’m impressed with young Vietnamese people. Many young people in the world are attracted by similar trends under the influence of marketing. I wish to recreate the curiosity in thinking among the young. At the current trend, even English and American cultural values are not realised completely.
 
Vietnamese women have very beautiful costumes but I know that many women love to wear jeans. Even the difference in food also contains cultural value. If all Vietnamese people wear jeans and eat McDonald’s food, it is very regretful. And the question is, what do we have to do?
 
In October we will organise a French film festival and we will seek a distributor of French films in Vietnam. But the basic task is training a contingent of intellectuals who are eager for learning. (VietNamNet)