The leaders of Brest city made this commitment during talks with Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Chi Dung, who recently paid a visit to the city.

Located in the north-western part of France, about 600km from Paris, Brest is a major port city and a leading centre for marine resources research and development. It is home to renowned maritime and telecommunications universities, as well as successful companies.

Since 2007 Brest has developed effective cooperation programmes with Vietnam’s Hai Phong, Nha Trang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau cities, covering a wide range of topics, from climate change, marine resources development and management, and water supplies to seafood hygiene and safety, medical care and education.

The French city has also shared its experience in managing and developing marine resources to help Vietnamese cities develop ‘high-quality’ coastal areas.

“In addition to marine-related issues, both sides have the potential for expanding cooperation in education, Vietnam Tourism and health care”, said Michel Marvon, strategic chief executive of Brest. “Many of our companies have invested and expanded operations in Vietnam’s coastal cities. We hope that we will continue cultivating further success, especially as political relations between France and Vietnam are developing well.”

Cooperation between Brest and the three Vietnamese cities opens up opportunities for replicating this decentralised cooperation model in other coastal areas of Vietnam.

“We highly value Brest’s experience in marine management and security maintenance,” said Ambassador Dung. “We want to bring this decentralised model to the national level to fully utilise our potential.”

During the visit, Mr Dung also worked with leaders of the Bretagne region, Brest Municipality, and Cotes d’Armor and Morbihan provinces.

He explored the operation of the Technopole Brest Iroise Research Centre, and the Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (CEDRE).

The Bretagne Region and its Cotes d’Amor and Morbihan provinces have implemented cooperation programmes with Vietnam’s Nghe An, Quang Ngai and Dong Nai provinces, especially in organic farming of dairy cattle and pigs.