Seventeen agreements worth nearly US$12 billion were signed between Vietnam and France in Hanoi on Friday during a visit by the French premier to the fast-growing Southeast Asian nation.

French Prime Edouard Philippe arrived in Hanoi on Friday to kick off his official visit to Vietnam from November 2-4, largely aimed at drumming up business deals with one of Asia's fastest growing economies, which clocked 6.8 percent GDP growth last year. 

Upon arrival, the French premier held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and met with Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong.

The French and Vietnamese heads of government then witnessed the signing of deals worth a total of nearly $12 billion, including in the aviation, energy and IT sectors.

"France is one of Vietnam's top partners, and is always a priority in Vietnam's foreign policy, we have close and binding exchanges," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told reporters after the signing. 

Trade between the countries has boomed in recent years, with France being Vietnam's third leading European trading partner after Germany and Italy, with two-way trade hitting $7.6 billion last year, according to the French Prime Minister's office. 

Vietnam, an export-driven manufacturing hub with a population of over 95 million people, has eagerly courted trading partners in Europe after the United States pulled out of the sprawling Trans-Pacific trade pact that Hanoi stood to gain enormously from.

Philippe was set to visit Dien Bien Phu, the site of the epic battle between France and Vietnam in 1954 that would spell the end of France's colonial empire in Indochina and pave the way for Vietnamese independence, on Saturday. 

The French premier's trip also includes a stopover in the bustling economic hub Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday where he will inaugurate a French medical centre and host a business forum with French tech entrepreneurs before heading to New Caledonia.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of bilateral strategic partnership.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (L) witness the signing of a deal between Airbus and Vietjet in Hanoi on November 2, 2018. Photo: Vietjet

Among the deals signed on Friday was one between France’s plane manufacturer Airbus and Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet for 50 new A321neo planes worth $6.5 billion.

Vietnamese airlines have been eagerly growing fleets to serve burgeoning passenger numbers, where domestic travel has soared in recent years and international air travel is one the rise. 

Vietjet also inked a Memorandum of Understanding worth $5 billion with France's Safran group for 100 engines and equipment maintenance, the document said. 

"These contracts reflect the growing intensity of economic ties between the two countries," French Prime Minister Philippe said after the signing.

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