Participants at a conference on Vietnam-UK trade and investment partnership outlook that takes place in Hanoi on December 6 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – An agreement on concludingnegotiations of the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) will be signed onDecember 11, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
The deal is significant for both countries in the currentcontext as it meets the demands of the two sides.
According to the MoIT, the FTA between the EU and Vietnam(EVFTA), which has been effective from August 1, will not be applied on the UKafter December 31, 2020.
Both Vietnam and the UK hope to finalise the agreement assoon as possible to promote economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.Meanwhile, the majority of the content in the UKVFTA are similar to those ofthe EVFTA, saving negotiation time for the deal.
The UKVFTA is expected to help boost tourism cooperationbetween the two countries, while encouraging partnership in other fields suchas development cooperation, defence, security, culture, and education andtraining.
It also spreads a positive message of the bilateralrelations, especially after their recent Joint Statement on bilateral cooperationvision on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership.
Vietnam and the UK set up diplomatic relations in 1973. Overthe past 47 years, bilateral ties have unceasingly developed. According to theGeneral Department of Vietnam Customs, two-way trade reached 6.6 billion USD in2019.
The UK has been the third largest trade partner of Vietnamin Europe after Germany and the Netherlands in recent years.
Vietnam mainly exports garment and textiles, footwear, woodand wooden furniture and seafood to the UK, while importing pharmaceuticals,machineries and equipment from the UK.
Due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as of the end ofOctober, two-way trade reached only 4.7 billion USD, down about 15 percent,with Vietnam’s exports to the UK hitting 4.1 billion USD, a decline of 14.19percent year on year.
In the first eight months of 2020, the UK run 400 validprojects in Vietnam with total registered capital of 3.6 billion USD, ranking16th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
However, the investment scale has yet to match the potentialof the UK – one of the largest countries in terms of investing abroad withabout 300 billion USD each year. The UKVFTA is expected to bring about moreinvestment and cooperation opportunities for the two sides, supporting them inpost-pandemic recovery.
Areas which the UK is strong in and Vietnam needs includerenewable energy, consumer goods production, and greenhouse gas emissionmitigation./.
VNA
