The 12th Vietnam-France cooperation conference with the theme "The driving force for sustainable and comprehensive recovery and development after the COVID-19 pandemic" wrapped up successfully in Hanoi on April 15.

Taking place at a time when Vietnam and France are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership, the conference showed the role and prestige of this cooperation mechanism with the participation of 50 localities of Vietnam and 12 localities of France, and many state and private organisations of the two sides.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh affirmed that after the three-day conference, more discussions and exchanges will be continued on other forums to realise the conference’s goals of creating new connections, new partners, and new successes.

The joint statement issued at the conference pointed out that environmental and climate changes are caused by human activities, reaffirming the determination to cooperate, based on the potential of experience exchanges in sustainable development, especially effective water management.

Participants at the conference agreed that environmental protection is a solid basis for sustainable socio-economic development.

There is a need to quickly adapt to digital transformation, which is now becoming a big challenge for socio-economic transformation, affirming that the cooperation between Vietnamese and French localities can offer new effective actions and solutions to successfully lead the transformation, through sharing common perceptions, policies, and experiences of success and failure in the development of a digital ecosystem, digital economy, digital society, and smart city. In this process, the priority is to improve the quality of public services and the business environment.

Challenges of urbanisation for the sustainable development of cities and people's lives give people no choice but to develop sustainably.

Therefore, it is necessary to promote projects based on a holistic approach and adapt to local conditions to ensure harmony and balance between modernity and tradition, heritage preservation, economic development, environmental protection, integration, and preservation of cultural identity. This not only requires a long-term vision of urban planning and management but also solutions to encourage and mobilise different stakeholders, especially urban residents, to participate in the transition towards a greener, more sustainable stage.

According to the joint statement, through discussions on forms of heritage conservation, cultural promotion, and tourism development, the localities of Vietnam and France, with diversity and richness in culture and heritage, have common interests and strengthen cooperation in formulating strategies for socio-economic development, green growth, and cultural industries associated with the conservation of tangible and intangible heritage.

The local-level cooperation is essential and indispensable for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda. The conference called for the development of this form of cooperation and committed to implementing the recommendations of the conference, with the support of all stakeholders.

On this occasion, localities including Hanoi and Toulouse, Yen Bai and Val-de-Marne; Thua Thien - Hue and Grand Poitiers signed cooperation agreements