Vietnam and the UK have committed to fostering trade and investmentcooperation, considering it as a top pillar in their strategicpartnership.
The agreement was reached during talks betweenvisiting Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh and UK Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague in London on April 16.
On the political front, they agreed to realise cooperationareas set under the annual Vietnam – UK action plan while facilitatingregular visits by their leaders, ministry and local officials.
The UK welcomed Vietnam’s investment flows and exports to the country,and promised to assist it in restructuring its financial and bankingsystem.
As the European Union member making the strongestcommitment to regional free trade, the UK vowed to do its best to helpquicken and conclude negotiations for the Vietnam – EU Free TradeAgreement this year and further help Vietnam intensify all-round tieswith the bloc. It also backs the EU in recognising the country as amarket economy soon.
Both sides expressed satisfaction thattwo-way trade went beyond its set target, topping 4 billion USD lastyear, and the UK’s investment inflows in Vietnam are coming closer to 3billion USD.
Ninh thanked the UK government for commitment toprovide official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam until 2016,expressing hope this will continue after that date via multilateralchannels. He said the assistance is being fully utilised for the sake ofsocio-economic development and international integration.
Vietnam, for its part, will offer all possible support to UK investorson the basis of equality and mutual benefits, he promised.
Regarding education links, they pledged to prioritise launching theinternational-standard Vietnam – UK University project in the centralcity of Da Nang, as well as strengthening existing ties between theireducational establishments.
Both officials vowed to increasedialogue and mutual support at regional and international forums,especially the United Nations, the Asia – Europe Meeting and the ASEAN –EU framework.
In this spirit, the UK backed Vietnam’sincreasing role in international organisations and forums. Hague praisedthe country’s efforts to materialise the ASEAN Community by 2015, andcomplimented ASEAN on its central role in the evolving regionalarchitecture. He also looked forward to the early adoption of theVietnam – EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA).
As acoordinator of the ASEAN – EU relations for the 2012 – 2015 term,Vietnam will try to reinforce their ties and ASEAN – UK relations inparticular, Ninh said.
Discussing regional and global issues,the UK expressed support to Vietnam’s stance on settling the East Seadispute by peaceful means in line with international law. It voiced hopethat Vietnam will support the upholding of the basic principles ofinternational law in the settlement of disputes around the world.
When it came to democracy and human rights, the UK hoped that Vietnamwill uphold its role as a member of the United Nations Human RightsCouncil in ensuring human rights in Vietnam and the world over.
Both host and guest consented to holding more dialogues on issueswhere differences exist between them in a constructive spirit and withmutual respect.
Also on April 16, Ninh met with Ministerwithout Portfolio Grant Shapps before holding working sessions withrepresentatives of high-profile fund management groups.
In the evening, he met with members of the Vietnamese community in the country.-VNA