Metro Manila, Philippines — French Ambassador to the Philippines, Marie Fontanel, said negotiations for a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with the Philippines are progressing, with Paris taking charge of drafting the initial version.

Fontanel told reporters in an interview that France is expected to complete the draft agreement by September.

“Both parties agreed on the process. The agreement was that France will be the one to start writing the first draft of the VFA,” the ambassador said.

Fontanel said Manila was actively engaged in the negotiations of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan, so both parties decided to allow France to write the draft.

“They did not commit to a specific timeline, but maybe in September, France will be in the position to show the first draft, and that will be the start of the discussions between the Philippines and France,” she said.

Fontanel did not comment on whether France and the Philippines would aim to finish the negotiations for the defense pact within the year.

She said she is optimistic about the speedy negotiation of the VFA since Manila is using the Japan RAA as a model for negotiations.

“We are working very hard to be one of the countries next in line,” said Fontanel in a speech at a West Philippine Sea Forum on July 8.

It can be recalled that French Minister of Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, visited the Philippines for the first time in December 2023.

Lecornu and Teodoro signed a letter of intent to design the way to a stronger defense partnership in all areas of strategic training and industrial domains.

The country has a VFA with the United States and Australia, while the recently signed deal with Japan has yet to be ratified by lawmakers from both sides to take effect.