UK businesses seek cooperation opportunities in Vietnam

London (VNA) – As many as 50 UK businesses joined an online meeting to get updates on socio-economic situation in Vietnam as well as developments in the Vietnam-UK relations, and seek opportunities to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in the future.

At the meeting, held by the Vietnam-UK Network, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Tran Ngoc An briefed participants on the COVID-19 pandemic fight in Vietnam.

He said that initial success in the fight has helped Vietnam minimise the pandemic’s negative impacts and maintain business and production activities, enabling the country to attract more investment.

The ambassador held that although the pandemic has ravaged the world over the past eight months and affected many plans of activities, Vietnam and the UK have maintained close coordination with each other.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had a phone call in Mid-July, during which Raab thanked the Vietnamese side for curing British COVID-19 patients and presenting face masks to UK hospitals and social organisations.

Raab affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner in the UK’s foreign policy for Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, while showing his hope for stronger partnership between the UK and the ASEAN.

Minh affirmed that as the Chair of the ASEAN in 2020, Vietnam will support partners, including the UK, to bolster collaboration with the grouping.

Regarding the Vietnamese economic situation, An said that The Economist magazine listed Vietnam among five economies with highest economic growth in the world in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated Vietnam’s GDP growth at 4.8 percent in 2020 and 6.8 percent in 2021, the fastest expansion in Southeast Asia and the world.

Vietnam’s GDP growth in the first six months of 2020 reached 1.81 percent, led by the strong performance of major sectors such as industry, production and processing, he said, expressing his belief that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which took effect on August 1, 2020, will open up plenty of chances for Vietnam and UK firms.

At the meeting, some businesses held that Vietnam’s small enterprises should apply digital technology for higher efficiency. They also discussed measures to increase the number of Vietnamese tourists to the UK.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-UK Network Paul Smith presented a survey showing that UK businesses are interested in Vietnamese sectors of food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, education, health care, finance, banking, financial technology, tourism, artificial intelligence, environmental protection and renewable energy./.