Meeting minutes within the scope of the fourth Vietnam-United Kingdom (UK) Joint Economic and Trade Committee Meeting (JETCO 4) was signed on January 26 in Hanoi featuring the UK ’s support for strengthening Vietnam-European Union (EU) trade ties.

Under the minutes, the UK promised to vigorously support an early EU recognition of market economy status for Vietnam , subject to its meeting established criteria and support for the removal of Anti-Dumping tax on Vietnam ’s footwear with leather uppers.

At the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh highly valued the significance of Vietnam-UK economic and trade relations and committed to creating favorable conditions for UK ’s enterprises, especially distributors, retailers and investors to operate in Vietnam .

UK Ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes said he believed that the concrete cooperation activities within the JETCO framework would help both sides to get better results in future.

The fourth annual JETCO between Vietnam and the UK took place in London on November 29, 2010. The Vietnamese side was headed by Permanent Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed issues relating to the bilateral trade ties seeking to build on the recently-signed Strategic Partnership and the ambitious goals of doubling bilateral trade to 4 billion USD and increasing UK investment in Vietnam to 3 billion USD in 2013./.