An exchange festival was held in Montreuil city, on the outskirts ofParis, on June 6 to strengthen friendship and solidarity betweenVietnamese and French people and associations.

Morethan 60 Vietnamese, French, French-Vietnamese organisations andassociations active in various fields such as economics, culture,education-training and humanitarian aid participated in the event.

The programme, which is entering its second year, was first held in2012 in Choisy le Roi by the Vietnamese Embassy in France and theMontreuil government.

Ambassador Nguyen Ngoc Sonhighlighted the close-knit relationship between Vietnam and France, which has been reinforced by people-to-people exchanges.

The associations have run a number of activities to support Vietnam inits development path and international integration process, he said.

He noted that the projects in various fields such asculture, vocational training, health, environment, poverty reduction andwar recovery have helped to improve local living standards and humanresources.

Mayor of Montreuil city, Patrice Bessac,said time could not erode the friendship between Vietnam and France,which was based on mutual respect and understanding.

A plenary session was held as part of the event to disseminate theimage of Vietnam in France and enhance coordination among associationsto heal the pains of war.

The festival also includesa seminar, culture exchanges, Vietnamese traditional dishes,handicrafts and souvenirs, lion dancing, an “ao dai” fashion show, andmartial artsdisplays.-VNA