President arrives in London, beginning visit to attend coronation of King Charles III
London (VNA) - President
Vo Van Thuong and his entourage arrived at Heathrow International Airport in London
on May 4 afternoon (local time), beginning their visit to attend the coronation of King Charles III at the invitation of the Royal
Family of the UK.
UK Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew said this is a very
significant moment as the UK has not had a coronation in the past seven decades.
Therefore, it is of great importance that President Thuong, along with other
leaders from around the world, comes to the UK to witness this meaningful event.
During his stay, the Vietnamese President is scheduled to meet King
Charles III and Queen Camilla, leaders of the British government,
parliament, and several Cabinet ministers, thereby further tightening ties
between Vietnam and the UK Government and monarchy as well as contributing to
enhancing political trust and relations between the two countries.
The Vietnamese State leader is also due to meet representatives
of leading economic corporations and educational institutions, and friendship organisations that have made significant contributions to the development of
bilateral relations.
The UK is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe. The two sides
officially signed a Free Trade Agreement in December 2020 on the principle of
inheriting the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) with necessary adjustments
to ensure compliance with the framework of bilateral trade between Vietnam and the
UK.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK made
significant contributions to COVAX Facility with the vaccine developed jointly
by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The UK donated millions of doses
of AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam through both bilateral channels and COVAX
Facility./.