Vietnam’s state-run pharmaceutical behemoth Vinapharm inked an agreement on Wednesday to expand a decades-old strategic partnership with French drugmaker Sanofi that is expected to give a boost to the latter’s Asia-Pacific exports.

The agreement was closed at the Vietnam-France Business Forum in Ho Chi Minh City as part of an event held to celebrate French President Francois Hollande’s official visit to Vietnam from September 6 to 7.

The two companies established a strategic partnership in 1993, according to Vinapharm.

As part of the extended partnership, Vinapharm will invest in Sanofi Vietnam, a Good Manufacturing Practice-recognized drug plant in Ho Chi Minh City.

Located in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, the US$75 million plant is capable of producing 150 million boxes of medicine per year and operates as Sanofi’s largest facility in Southeast Asia.

Philippe Luscan, executive vice president of global industrial affairs with Sanofi, said the new partnership will expand the ability of Vietnamese people to access healthcare solutions.

The deal is also vivid evidence of valuable economic and scientific cooperation between Vietnam and France in the pharmaceutical field, he added.

Vietnam’s pharmaceutical market is forecast to rise to $7.2 billion by 2020, from $4.2 billion in 2015, according to a report by BMI Research.

The market is also predicted to maintain an annual growth rate of at least 15 percent through 2025.

Cyril Grandchamp-desraux, ASEAN zone head with Sanofi, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that Vietnam’s pharmaceutical market is growing in appeal to foreign investors, thanks to a crowded, young population and good GDP growth.

As of 2013, Paris-headquartered Sanofi was the world's fifth-largest pharmaceutical brand in terms of prescription sales.

Last year the company’s financial report disclosed 37.05 billion euros ($41.63 billion) in revenue.