Mr. Jérémie Pellet, CEO of Expertise France, tells Vietnam Economic Times / VnEconomy’s Linh Tong how the agency, over its decade in Vietnam, has advanced sustainable development, green finance, technical cooperation, and capacity-building while emphasizing international partnerships and shared learning.

Why
have you paid a visit to Vietnam at this time?

There
are three main reasons that underpin the purpose of my visit to Vietnam.

First, Expertise France is the French agency for international technical cooperation.
We implement projects in about a hundred countries and territories, deploying experts
in the field and strengthening public policies in our partner states to help achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals. For the past three years, we have also been part
of the French Development Agency (AFD) Group. This means that France has brought
together all its cooperation and development instruments under one “common house”
to be more effective.

Second, I am here to discuss with our Vietnamese partners the support we have
been providing since 1993. Long before Expertise France was created, the agencies
that later merged to form it were already working with Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance
(MoF). Today, we are carrying out ten projects worth €10 million ($11 million).
Eighteen people are currently working in our Hanoi office, and this portfolio is
growing quickly. In fact, in the months to come we will triple the volume of investments
committed to Franco-Vietnamese cooperation. During my visit, I have had the opportunity
to meet with the MoF, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Agriculture
and Environment, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We discussed Vietnam’s long-term
priorities, particularly its decarbonization strategy, and how we can best support
these investments and reforms.

Third, I am here to celebrate the successes of Franco-Vietnamese cooperation.
We are proud, for example, to have contributed to the creation of Vietnam’s digital
public services platform, thanks to French expertise. Another example is the renovation
of Hanoi’s architectural heritage, with support from the Île-de-France Region, including
the restoration of the building at 46 Hang Bai. It is a beautiful illustration of
how, together with the city of Hanoi, we can bring new life to historic heritage.
In the health sector too, we have achieved significant results, particularly in
supporting vulnerable populations to reduce the transmission of HIV and tuberculosis.
These are programs we run in several countries, but in Vietnam, the outcomes have
been especially strong.

Vietnam has been identified as one of the priority countries in France’s
Indo-Pacific Strategy. What role does Vietnam play in Expertise France’s cooperation
efforts in this region?

Vietnam is indeed a key country for both France and Europe in the Indo-Pacific.
This is reflected in the strategic partnership between France and Vietnam, which
highlights several areas of cooperation that are vital for the country’s future.

One of the most important is the strengthening of skills and qualifications
within the Vietnamese workforce, so that it can meet the growing demand for higher
value-added expertise in strategic sectors such as information technology, engineering,
and applied research.

In this context, we have focused a significant part of our cooperation on vocational
training, supporting the establishment and development of centers of excellence
in science, technology, and emerging disciplines that are essential to Vietnam’s
economic development.

In a global context marked by challenges such as climate change, pandemics,
and political instability, how is Expertise France adapting its approach to ensure
effective and sustainable cooperation with Vietnam?

The international situation, as well as the ambitions of our partner countries,
and Vietnam in particular, requires us to live up to expectations. This calls for
a collective effort, and it commits the entire AFD Group to step up its engagement
in order to be more effective.

In practical terms, this means acting in a coordinated way, ensuring that human
and technical expertise is aligned with public financing, but also with the involvement
of the private sector. We must further mobilize operational investments from private
actors in support of long-term development objectives.

This is precisely the approach we are pursuing today, working alongside the
entire Team Europe and with all European stakeholders, to successfully mobilize
the necessary resources and respond to Vietnam’s significant investment needs.

Your visit to Vietnam coincides with the launch of the second phase
of the green finance support program with the MoF. Could you tell us more about
this new phase?

We are indeed entering the second phase of our support to the MoF in the field
of green finance.

In essence, our work is structured around two main areas. The first is support
for the establishment of a carbon market in Vietnam. A key milestone was already
achieved last May, with the adoption of a law creating this market. The second is
the development of green bonds, which make it possible to mobilize international
savings to finance projects aligned with long-term sustainable pathways.

This week, two of our experts were in Hanoi to work on Phase 2. This phase
will focus on operationalizing the carbon market: first through a testing phase,
and then by progressively enabling greenhouse gas emitters to trade permits on the
market, with potential buyers in France and beyond.

Phase 2 will also involve the practical implementation of green bond issuances,
as well as in-depth work on green taxation – that is, how the fiscal system can
provide the right incentives to accelerate the shift towards a decarbonized economy.
This is a priority project for the MoF and was in fact discussed at the highest
level between the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the President
of the French Republic. We are therefore strongly committed to ensuring that it
is implemented as effectively as possible.

How do you assess Vietnam’s digital transformation, both in economic
and social terms, and what contribution can Expertise France bring in this field?

The digital transition is absolutely essential for Vietnam’s integration into
the global economy. More broadly, our support takes several forms. I mentioned earlier
our work in strengthening digital governance, which is a key area of engagement.
In addition, we facilitate the connection between the Vietnamese economy and European
businesses, startups, and research centers, particularly in the fields of digital
technology and AI.

In this regard, we will be hosting a major meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on October
21 between European and Vietnamese stakeholders dedicated to digital issues, with
the aim of reinforcing partnerships and fostering the exchange of new ideas and
technologies.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Expertise France’s presence
in Vietnam, what message would you like to convey to your partners and to the Vietnamese
public?

It is a simple one: regardless of a country’s level of development, it always
benefits from cooperating with others. In a world that sometimes tends to fragment,
those who turn inward miss opportunities for progress, while those who are able
to compare their practices with what is being done elsewhere – drawing on the wealth
of global experience – are the ones who advance most quickly.

We all have something to learn from one another. France, for instance, has
much to learn from Vietnam’s achievements. The more we create bridges and foster
direct dialogue between professionals facing the same challenges – whether managing
traffic congestion in Paris or reducing flood risks for critical infrastructure
in Vietnam – the more we strengthen our collective ability to find solutions.

This is precisely the value and richness of technical cooperation: sharing
experiences, pooling best practices, and recognizing that this mode of collaboration
is an essential driver of development. I am convinced that we must continue to promote
it everywhere in the world, together with our partner countries.

VET-Linh Tong