"We understand that Vietnam wants modernized military equipment from many different sources and France is ready to meet all of Vietnam's needs," the online news portal VietnamNet (vietnamnet.vn) quoted Herve Morin as saying.
Morin, who was on a one-day visit to Hanoi on Monday, said France was not only willing to assist in terms of providing equipment, but also hoped to "develop deep, lasting relations in all sectors of the defense industry," it said. France had already sold Vietnam radars, helicopters and transport planes, he was quoted as saying, and it hoped to set up officer training classes in Vietnam soon.
France colonized Indochina — Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos — from the late 1800s until 1954, when its troops were defeated by Communist soldiers at the now legendary battle of Dien Bien Phu in northeast Vietnam.
Paris and Hanoi established diplomatic relations in 1973.
