Vietnamese Finance Ministry and the UK Department of Foreign Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on financial cooperation in Hanoi on Feb. 27.

The MoU covers five areas – public debt management, public-private partnership in public investment, financial policies and markets (including stock, insurance and bond), macro-economic stabilisation and national credit rating.

The MoU also plans for exchange of delegations, symposiums, short-term training courses, information sharing and joint reports on macro-economy, thus improving the quality of policies and capacity of the Vietnamese Finance Ministry’s staff regarding public financial management.

Under the MoU, which will be valid for three years, the two sides agreed to establish annual plans of action.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Vietnamese Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said the MoU marks a milestone in financial cooperation between the two countries while tightening ties between the Vietnamese Finance Ministry and the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Treasury of the UK .

Vietnam commits to soon adopt a concrete plan of action to materialise the MoU, Hue said.

UK Ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes expressed his hopes that apart from the financial sector, Vietnam and UK will expand cooperation in other fields.

Over the past time, the Vietnamese Finance Ministry received support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in public financial management through a number of projects./.