Deputy Minister Tran Van Tung said Vietnamese scientists hoped to expand partnerships with countries utilizing advanced technology such as France, as demonstrated by the science and technology cooperation agreement signed between the Vietnamese and French Governments in March 2007.

France recently assisted Vietnam in building and launching the first remote sensing satellite, VNREDSat-1, and fishing boat monitoring systems using the satellite technology Movimar, he noted.

In the spirit of using outer space for peaceful purposes, Vietnam considers the advancement of aerospace technology a priority in its science and technology development strategy towards 2020.

The Vietnamese Government and the aerospace industry have carried out over 60 strategies and research projects to serve national socio-economic development as well as defense and security.

Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) groupVice Director, Antoine Monsaingeon, said Vietnam had made the right move in building its first remote sensing satellite VNREDSat-1.

He added that France has helped Vietnam in the field for a number of years and will enhance cooperation with and support for the country to master satellite technology in future.