ISTANBUL

The French president on Monday reemphasized the importance his country attaches to the Indo-Pacific and signaled elevated cooperation with Vietnam.

“France has consistently reiterated its commitment to freedom and sovereignty, which are at the heart of our Indo-Pacific strategy, and also at the heart of the central role we recognize for ASEAN,” Emmanuel Macron said in a joint news briefing with his Vietnamese counterpart Luong Cuong during his Southeast Asia trip.

Macron reaffirmed the continuation of building a “sovereignty partnership” with strengthened defense cooperation and joint projects in space, critical minerals, high-speed rail, and low-carbon energy, including civil nuclear power.

“Since the end of last year, when we decided to elevate our strategic partnership to the level of a global strategic partnership — with France being the only European country to have this status within your partnerships — it truly is a new chapter being written between our two countries and in all fields,” he noted.

Macron further expressed his “desire” to write an “ambitious page” in the relationship between ASEAN and the EU.

“We are now celebrating a deep-rooted friendship. And we will also have the opportunity to continue, on each point of this partnership, to seal this shared future,” he noted.

Pointing to the “imbalances and the return of power or intimidation rhetoric” the world faces today, Macron reiterated the need to act together to maintain an international order “based on law.”

“Our desire to move forward on each of these issues is fundamentally based on a shared vision of what the international order and stability in our two regions should be,” he also said.

An official statement from Hanoi said that both leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in defense and security, enhance trade and investment, and expand collaboration in science and technology, as well as in culture, tourism, agriculture, and climate change.

The two sides also signed 14 pacts covering various areas such as defense cooperation, technological innovation, peaceful use of nuclear energy, technology transfer for vaccine production, and a purchase contract for 20 A330-900 aircraft between Vietjet and Airbus, it said.

They reiterated their commitment to upholding peace, stability, security, and the safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, emphasizing the importance of resolving disputes through peaceful means and in accordance with international law, according to the statement.

Macron arrived in Vietnam on Sunday as part of a three-nation visit to Southeast Asia that is expected to last till Friday.

As part of his trip, Macron will also visit Indonesia and Singapore.