(Bloomberg) — French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to focus on energy, transport and infrastructure during his state visit to Vietnam, the first stop of his Southeast Asian tour as he seeks to shore up alliances in the region.
Macron will hold talks with Vietnam’s top leaders in Hanoi Monday. An agreement on a power grid project between the French Development Agency and Vietnam’s National Power Transmission Corporation is set to be one of the deals sealed during his visit, according to state media.
From Vietnam, Macron will be looking to boost bilateral relations in Indonesia before traveling to Singapore to speak at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit on Friday. The three countries illustrate the density of the ties France has forged in “all sectors, including energy, transportation and defense,” the president’s Elysee office said in a briefing.
The visit comes on the heels of similar trips by the leaders of China, Spain, Japan, and other nations, as Southeast Asia moves into the spotlight amid uncertainties surrounding supply chains and global trade.
Vietnam and France upgraded relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during a visit to Paris by Communist Party General Secretary To Lam. During that trip in October, the leaders discussed boosting security and defense cooperation and working closer in areas such as aerospace, transport infrastructure and renewable energy.
As Europe calibrates its priorities amid US tariff uncertainty, Macron said France aims to deepen economic ties with regional superpower China, after a call with President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
“Chinese investment is welcome in France,” Macron said in a post on X. “But our companies must benefit from fair competition in our two countries,” he said.
In addition to the business deals, Macron has been urged to raise human rights issues while in Vietnam and press for the release of dozens of civil society activists.
“The Vietnamese government’s broad and intense crackdown on freedom of speech and assembly is the opposite of what it pledged to France and the EU,” said Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities have jailed an increasing number of democracy advocates and dissidents and are resisting reforms,” she said.
Macron is also set to visit the University of Science and Technology in Hanoi on Tuesday, where he will deliver a speech about the future of France’s relationship with Vietnam.
–With assistance from Linh Vu Nguyen.
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