They highlighted Cần Thơ’s potential of agricultural production such as rice, fisheries and fruit, along with hi-tech agricultural projects that need investment. They expressed their hope that French businesses would come to seek investment opportunities here.

Chairman of the Cần Thơ municipal People’s Committee Võ Thành Thống said agriculture was a strength of his city as well as other Mekong Delta localities. Many products made in Cần Thơ such as agricultural and aquatic products, apparel and handicrafts had been imported by France and other European countries.

French firms should come to the city to invest in those areas in order to increase trade between Việt Nam and France, he noted.

There are six French-invested projects worth nearly US$6 million in Cần Thơ. Meanwhile, bilateral trade has been on an upward trend. The city earned about $31 million from exports, mostly aquatic products, garments and handicrafts, to France in 2016. Its imports from the EU nations include pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, and agricultural medicine, Thống added.

Cần Thơ had also carried out numerous co-operation activities in culture, education and healthcare with France. It expected bilateral relations to be intensified in the future, the official said.

Martine Fumey, vice chairwoman of the World’s No 1 Club, said the club gathered exporting companies in various industries of France, and they wanted to bolster the partnership with Vietnamese businesses.

Their visit to Cần Thơ this time was aimed at enhancing connections with local firms and seek investment opportunities, thereby gradually turning French enterprises into a key trade partner of the city, said Fumey, chairwoman of the Ares company, which specialises in security device production.

Jacques Aurin, secretary general of the club and president of the Baron de Madaillan AE company, said they were also interested in educational co-operation with Cần Thơ-based universities since education was the basis for economic development.

After the working session, the French delegation visited some rice, fishery and fruit processing companies in Cần Thơ.