On July 23rd, Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) had a working meeting with a delegation from the National Center of Space Studies of France (CNES) led by Mr. Jean-Yves Le Gall, CNES Director.

Minutes of the meeting signed (Photo: vast.ac.vn)

VAST has a strict cooperative relationship with partners from the Republic of France in terms of science and technology, especially space technology. In 2013, with ODA funding from the French Government, Vietnam successfully launched the earth observation satellite, VNREDSAT-1, into orbit, laying the first foundation for Vietnam’s space science and technology.

Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh gave a warm welcome to CNES delegation who paid a working visit to VAST. He recognised and appreciated the active contributions from the French Republic to the cause of VAST studies and training, saying that he hoped the cooperative relationship between the two sides would be increased in the future.

Mr. Jean-Yves Le Gall thanked VAST for its formal reception, expressing his happiness with the success of the relationship between Vietnam and the French Republic over the past time. He also revealed his hope for continued strict cooperation and increased implementation of cooperative activities on scientific and technological areas concerned by the two sides.

The two sides carried out detailed discussions on the contents of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between VAST and CNES which is scheduled to be signed during the planned visit to Vietnam by the President of the French Republic. The two sides asserted that the successful signing of the MoU would be a firm foundation for the cooperative relation between VAST and CNES in the field of space technology while opening up a wide range of new opportunities of cooperation for Vietnamese and French scientists.

VAST and CNES signed the minutes of the meeting in which they two sides assigned VAST International Cooperation Board and CNES International Cooperation Agency to further discuss and complete the adopted contents. The CNES Director asked the two sides to work with the Foreign Ministries of the two countries to submit the MoU to the Governments to be included in the working program during the visit to Vietnam by the French President./.

( Compiled by VNF )