The talks in Hanoi on September 30 between Vietnamese Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (second, right) and UK First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Rabb (second, left) (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and the UK issueda “Joint Declaration on the Vietnam - UK Strategic Partnership: Forging Aheadfor Another 10 Years” after the talks in Hanoi on September 30 between VietnameseDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and UK FirstSecretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth andDevelopment Affairs Dominic Rabb. Following is the full text of the jointdeclaration.
In 2010 Vietnam and the United Kingdom (UK) and signed a JointDeclaration to establish the Vietnam – UK Strategic Partnership. After 10 yearsof successful implementation and growth, this partnership has taken on a globalsignificance. Bilateral cooperation has been intensified in various fieldsranging from political – diplomatic; trade – investment; sustainablesocio-economic development; security –defence; education – training; science – technology; healthcare;, people-to-peoplelinks. The two sides have also been coordinating closely in multilateral fora,including the United Nations, ASEM, ASEAN - led fora and the WTO. In the next 10 years, the StrategicPartnership will not only be the framework to further the bilateralrelationship, but it will also address issues on which the UK and Vietnam willprovide leadership in the global community.
On the occasion of the visit by the Right Honourable Dominic Rabb MP,First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth andDevelopment Affairs, to Vietnam on 30 September 2020, hosted by Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, in the year in which Vietnamchairs ASEAN and joins the UK in the UN Security Council, and as the UKprepares to host COP26 in 2021, both sides wish to refresh and strengthen the Vietnam- UK Strategic Partnership. We will set an upward trajectory for the next 10years with the shared ambition to lift the Strategic Partnership between Vietnamand the UK to a higher level in the future.
The Vietnam - UK relationship is founded firmly on common values:respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of allnations; non-interference in each country’s internal affairs; mutual respectand benefit; a commitment to global free trade and to low-carbon development totackle climate change; respect and promotion of the rule of law and humanrights; advancement of international law and multilateralism, and the promotionof peace, security and prosperity in line with the UN Charter.
1.Political - Diplomatic Cooperation
We commit to promote top-level dialoguebetween the Leaders of both countries, specifically to hold: an annualStrategic Dialogue at Vice-Ministerial level; an annual Joint Economic andTrade Committee at Vice-Ministerial level; and an annual Defence Dialogue atVice-Ministerial level. Meetings will alternate between Hanoi and London. Wewill seek regular official visits by Leaders and Ministers in bothdirections, and meetings in the margins of international and regional fora. Bothsides will facilitate high level direct contact by telephone or videoconferenceon issues of importance when appropriate.
We welcome the development ofdialogues and visits between government ministries and agencies, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)and British political parties, the National Assembly of Vietnamand the UK Parliament, academic and strategic policyinstitutions. We will support parliamentary cooperation, includingbilateral visits by leaders of both sides’ parliaments, heads of parliamentarycommissions, the Vietnam’s Friendship Parliamentary Group for the UK and theUK’s All-party Parliamentary Group for Vietnam. We will also supportparliamentary cooperation in multilateral fora. We will encourage links between local government agencies andeducational institutions, and regional/provincial links to promote tradeand education.
With the shared objective of supporting the increasingly largecommunities of business people, tourists and students in each other’scountries, the UK Embassy in Hanoi, the UK Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh,and the Vietnamese Embassy in London will strengthen links and exchange ofinformation through a quarterly online consultation.
2.Trade, Investment and the Business Environment
We commit to deepening the bilateral trade and investment relationshipand pursuing more open trade and investment through global and regional economicintegration, as well as upholding an open, inclusive, transparent andrules-based multilateral trading system embodied in the WTO.
The UK recognises Vietnam’s rapidprogress on its international integration agenda, including economic reforms. We encourage the promotion of an open andattractive business environment. The UK welcomes Vietnam’s intention to expandits investment in and to increase its exports to the UK market. Vietnamlikewise encourages increased UK exports of goods and services to Vietnam, aswell as increased investment.
We look forward to further strengthening ourtrade and investment relationship and will work closely together to finalise and bring into force a bilateral FreeTrade Agreement between Vietnam and the UK, to provide continuity forbusinesses in both countries when the Vietnam - EU FTA ceases to apply to theUK, at the end of the UK - EU transition period. We will also continue to have discussionsaround the UK’s ambition to accede to CPTPP and to secure ASEAN DialoguePartner status.
We recognise the importance of creating longterm partnerships which promote business as well as government-to-governmentcooperation, particularly in strategic sectors such as renewable energy,technology and healthcare. We will harness technology to take advantage ofmodern opportunities and industry 4.0.
Economic, trade and investment issues will continue to be monitoredthrough the annual Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) as well asbilateral Ministerial visits, and at official level.
We commit to enhance financial cooperation, encourage and support ourinvestors to invest, expand their business and develop financial services inthe financial and capital markets of Vietnam and the UK.
3. Sustainable Growth, DevelopmentCooperation
The UK will work with Vietnam bilaterally and alongside otherdevelopment partners to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity,particularly in the areas of sustainable urbanisation and development, water resourcesmanagement, enviromental protection, ocean governance, hydro-meteorologyservices, healthcare, innovation, including cooperation on digital economies,smart cities, infrastructure and construction, in line with the UN SustainableDevelopment Goals.
We will work together, both bilaterally andmultilaterally, to combat the urgent challenges presented by climatechange through concrete actions in accordance with the principles of the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the ParisAgreement. We will strengthen cooperation and dialogue on climate changemitigation and adaptation at a technical level as part of this work. The twosides promote cooperation in sustainable consumption and production, andcircular economy activities. The UK commits to supporting Vietnam’s low-carbonclimate-resilient growth strategy and transitioning to renewable energy includingwind and solar power. We will cooperate to make the transition to low carboneconomies, including on trade and investment that contributes to reducinggreenhouse gas emissions, science and technology and green financing. We will ensure bilateral cooperation tosupport initiatives around sustainable energy, low carbon economies and greenfinancing.
We will increase cooperation and sharing of expertise to tacklechallenges posed by infectious and non-communicable disease burdens. Internationalcollaboration post Covid-19 is more important than ever for tackling globalhealth burdens. The collaborationbetween UK and Vietnamese health experts and scientists has gone from strengthto strength as they work together on non-communicable disease, digitalhealth, antimicrobial resistance, and on science and innovation.
We will share experience and consider supporting efforts aimed atbolstering the fight against corruption. We will work together to further goodgovernance and rule of law, accountability and transparency issues.
4. Education, Vocational Training,English Language Training, Higher Education, Science and Education Technology
The UK commits to supporting education reform strategies of theGovernment of Vietnam. We commit to promoting bilateral cooperation betweenvocational training institutions of the two countries, and to increasing andstrengthening the number, range and quality of joint education programmes andUK qualifications at governmental and institutional level. We encourage more cooperationbetween our universities and new private sector initiatives aimed at bringingUK educational opportunities to Vietnam. The UK commits to supporting effortsto increase English language proficiency, through support for English teacherdevelopment, quality teaching, learning and assessment of English as well asdigital offers to support an inclusive approach.
We commit to promoting sustainable growth in science, technology andinnovation, and to helping Vietnam equip its workforce with essential skillsfor the digital age. This includes sharing expertise of online education toimprove the experience for both teachers and students.
The UK commits to supporting efforts to increase English languageproficiency, through support for English teacher development in schools,universities and key industries.
We encourage more Vietnamese students to choose the UK for highereducation and commit to exploring more opportunities for UK students, teachersand experts to come to Vietnam. We commit to encouraging more applications frommore diverse backgrounds to the UK’s Chevening Scholarships.
We will expand collaboration on research and innovation, includingclinical trials, vaccine development and measures to ensure the medical supplychain’s sustainability to cope with pandemic emergency, support global efforts to develop and deploysafe and equitable healthcare for everyone who needs it.
5. Defence, Security and Seriousorganised crime
We will continue ministerial and seniormilitary official level exchanges; including the annual Vice-MinisterialDefence Policy dialogue and the Defence Cooperation Working Group, in order tofurther enhance bilateral defence and security cooperation. Priority areas willinclude United Nations peacekeeping operations, military healthcare andtraining, English language provision, maritime security, including maritime lawenforcement capacity building, defence industry cooperation and collaborationon geospatial and hydrographic cooperation.
We will ensure the successful operation ofthe Vietnam – UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on criminal matters 2009 andthe Vietnam – UK Prisoner Transfer Agreement 2008, and related agreements onmigration and combating and preventing serious and organised crime.
We commit to increasing exchanges of delegations at Ministerial, Seniorofficials and desk officer level in order to further enhance bilateralcooperation to combat serious and organised crime. Priority areas include irregularmigration, people smuggling, human trafficking, child sex abuse and exploitation,cybercrime, transnational drug trafficking and money laundering/ economiccrime. We propose to hold annual migration talks at senior official levelenabling both sides to review cooperation and to discuss new challenges as wellas pathways for regular and safe migration, commit to developing a jointoperational team and increasing capacity building and training. We commit toprotecting and safeguarding the victims of these crimes. We commit to workingtowards an extradition treaty between Vietnam and the UK .
We also commit to strengthening legal andjudicial cooperation based on the UK - Vietnam Memorandum of Understanding onlegal and judicial cooperation signed in 2008.
6. People-to-People Links andEqual Rights
We commit to creating conditions to promote greater understandingbetween the peoples of both countries. We will encourage networks toconsolidate links and collaboration in arts, culture, sports, media, scientificresearch, and tourism.
The two sides will continue to foster inbound and outbound tourism andextend support to the operation of the Visit Vietnam Office in the UK. We willstrengthen cooperation in sports training and exchanges of sport experts andteams. The UK will share experiences and support Vietnam to organiseinternational sports events. The UK continues cooperation and supports Vietnamin developing cultural industries and promoting cooperation in organisingevents, exchanges of performing art troupes and experts in the field of art andculture.
We value the contribution of the Vietnamese community in the UK to thesocial and economic development of Vietnam and the UK, and in promotingfriendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Vietnam and the UK will co-operate in thepromotion and protection of human rights, including with regard to theimplementation of international human rights instruments to which they are party.
We will continue to work to encourage moremedia exchanges, promote greater access for each other’s media organisationsand more cooperation on capacity building and training.
We are both committed to promoting gender equality in our two countriesand ensuring access to education for everyone, especially for girls, around theworld.
7. Globaland regional issues
We commit to a closer coordination through multilateral fora, includingthe United Nations and within the framework of ASEAN. This will includeexchanges on promoting the rules based international system; maritime security;conflict prevention; non-proliferation; human rights; human trafficking, peoplesmuggling, women in peace and security, explosive remnants of war, climatechange, and environmental protection.
We reaffirm the importance of maintaining andpromoting peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation andoverflight, implementing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS) in good faith, pursuing the peaceful resolution of disputes withoutthe threat or use of force and respecting legal and diplomatic processes, inaccordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS. We express serious and continuedconcerns over developments in the South China Sea, including disruptiveactivities, land reclamation and militarisation of disputed features, andunderscore the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in theconduct of activities and avoidance of actions that may further complicate the situationor escalate disputes and affect peace and stability. We emphasise that UNCLOS isthe basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdictionand legitimate interests over maritime zones, and UNCLOS provides thecomprehensive legal framework within which all activities in the oceans andseas must be carried out. We reiterate the importance of the full and effectiveimplementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South ChinaSea (DOC) in its entirety as well as the swift conclusion of an effective andsubstantive Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC) that is consistentwith international law, particularly UNCLOS, without prejudice to the rights ofStates or the interests of third parties under international law.
We commit to strengthening the UK-ASEAN relationship to promotecollaboration in the three ASEAN communities: political-security, economic andsocio-cultural. The UK has submitted its application for Dialogue PartnerStatus under Vietnam’s Chair of ASEAN. Vietnam welcomes and supports the UK to furtherenhance its relationship with ASEAN.
Both sides commit to regular and working-level exchanges of views onregional issues of interest. Areas include recognising ASEAN centrality,strengthening ASEAN mechanisms and narrowing the development gap in ASEANthrough exchanges of best practices and assistance for capacity building, andensuring peace, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in thewaters in the Southeast Asia region and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Thisis coupled with deepening the UK-ASEAN trade and investment relationship,delivering future growth that is sustainable, inclusive and maximises theopportunities Industry 4.0 presents./.
In 2010 Vietnam and the United Kingdom (UK) and signed a JointDeclaration to establish the Vietnam – UK Strategic Partnership. After 10 yearsof successful implementation and growth, this partnership has taken on a globalsignificance. Bilateral cooperation has been intensified in various fieldsranging from political – diplomatic; trade – investment; sustainablesocio-economic development; security –defence; education – training; science – technology; healthcare;, people-to-peoplelinks. The two sides have also been coordinating closely in multilateral fora,including the United Nations, ASEM, ASEAN - led fora and the WTO. In the next 10 years, the StrategicPartnership will not only be the framework to further the bilateralrelationship, but it will also address issues on which the UK and Vietnam willprovide leadership in the global community.
On the occasion of the visit by the Right Honourable Dominic Rabb MP,First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth andDevelopment Affairs, to Vietnam on 30 September 2020, hosted by Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, in the year in which Vietnamchairs ASEAN and joins the UK in the UN Security Council, and as the UKprepares to host COP26 in 2021, both sides wish to refresh and strengthen the Vietnam- UK Strategic Partnership. We will set an upward trajectory for the next 10years with the shared ambition to lift the Strategic Partnership between Vietnamand the UK to a higher level in the future.
The Vietnam - UK relationship is founded firmly on common values:respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of allnations; non-interference in each country’s internal affairs; mutual respectand benefit; a commitment to global free trade and to low-carbon development totackle climate change; respect and promotion of the rule of law and humanrights; advancement of international law and multilateralism, and the promotionof peace, security and prosperity in line with the UN Charter.
1.Political - Diplomatic Cooperation
We commit to promote top-level dialoguebetween the Leaders of both countries, specifically to hold: an annualStrategic Dialogue at Vice-Ministerial level; an annual Joint Economic andTrade Committee at Vice-Ministerial level; and an annual Defence Dialogue atVice-Ministerial level. Meetings will alternate between Hanoi and London. Wewill seek regular official visits by Leaders and Ministers in bothdirections, and meetings in the margins of international and regional fora. Bothsides will facilitate high level direct contact by telephone or videoconferenceon issues of importance when appropriate.
We welcome the development ofdialogues and visits between government ministries and agencies, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)and British political parties, the National Assembly of Vietnamand the UK Parliament, academic and strategic policyinstitutions. We will support parliamentary cooperation, includingbilateral visits by leaders of both sides’ parliaments, heads of parliamentarycommissions, the Vietnam’s Friendship Parliamentary Group for the UK and theUK’s All-party Parliamentary Group for Vietnam. We will also supportparliamentary cooperation in multilateral fora. We will encourage links between local government agencies andeducational institutions, and regional/provincial links to promote tradeand education.
With the shared objective of supporting the increasingly largecommunities of business people, tourists and students in each other’scountries, the UK Embassy in Hanoi, the UK Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh,and the Vietnamese Embassy in London will strengthen links and exchange ofinformation through a quarterly online consultation.
2.Trade, Investment and the Business Environment
We commit to deepening the bilateral trade and investment relationshipand pursuing more open trade and investment through global and regional economicintegration, as well as upholding an open, inclusive, transparent andrules-based multilateral trading system embodied in the WTO.
The UK recognises Vietnam’s rapidprogress on its international integration agenda, including economic reforms. We encourage the promotion of an open andattractive business environment. The UK welcomes Vietnam’s intention to expandits investment in and to increase its exports to the UK market. Vietnamlikewise encourages increased UK exports of goods and services to Vietnam, aswell as increased investment.
We look forward to further strengthening ourtrade and investment relationship and will work closely together to finalise and bring into force a bilateral FreeTrade Agreement between Vietnam and the UK, to provide continuity forbusinesses in both countries when the Vietnam - EU FTA ceases to apply to theUK, at the end of the UK - EU transition period. We will also continue to have discussionsaround the UK’s ambition to accede to CPTPP and to secure ASEAN DialoguePartner status.
We recognise the importance of creating longterm partnerships which promote business as well as government-to-governmentcooperation, particularly in strategic sectors such as renewable energy,technology and healthcare. We will harness technology to take advantage ofmodern opportunities and industry 4.0.
Economic, trade and investment issues will continue to be monitoredthrough the annual Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) as well asbilateral Ministerial visits, and at official level.
We commit to enhance financial cooperation, encourage and support ourinvestors to invest, expand their business and develop financial services inthe financial and capital markets of Vietnam and the UK.
3. Sustainable Growth, DevelopmentCooperation
The UK will work with Vietnam bilaterally and alongside otherdevelopment partners to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity,particularly in the areas of sustainable urbanisation and development, water resourcesmanagement, enviromental protection, ocean governance, hydro-meteorologyservices, healthcare, innovation, including cooperation on digital economies,smart cities, infrastructure and construction, in line with the UN SustainableDevelopment Goals.
We will work together, both bilaterally andmultilaterally, to combat the urgent challenges presented by climatechange through concrete actions in accordance with the principles of the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the ParisAgreement. We will strengthen cooperation and dialogue on climate changemitigation and adaptation at a technical level as part of this work. The twosides promote cooperation in sustainable consumption and production, andcircular economy activities. The UK commits to supporting Vietnam’s low-carbonclimate-resilient growth strategy and transitioning to renewable energy includingwind and solar power. We will cooperate to make the transition to low carboneconomies, including on trade and investment that contributes to reducinggreenhouse gas emissions, science and technology and green financing. We will ensure bilateral cooperation tosupport initiatives around sustainable energy, low carbon economies and greenfinancing.
We will increase cooperation and sharing of expertise to tacklechallenges posed by infectious and non-communicable disease burdens. Internationalcollaboration post Covid-19 is more important than ever for tackling globalhealth burdens. The collaborationbetween UK and Vietnamese health experts and scientists has gone from strengthto strength as they work together on non-communicable disease, digitalhealth, antimicrobial resistance, and on science and innovation.
We will share experience and consider supporting efforts aimed atbolstering the fight against corruption. We will work together to further goodgovernance and rule of law, accountability and transparency issues.
4. Education, Vocational Training,English Language Training, Higher Education, Science and Education Technology
The UK commits to supporting education reform strategies of theGovernment of Vietnam. We commit to promoting bilateral cooperation betweenvocational training institutions of the two countries, and to increasing andstrengthening the number, range and quality of joint education programmes andUK qualifications at governmental and institutional level. We encourage more cooperationbetween our universities and new private sector initiatives aimed at bringingUK educational opportunities to Vietnam. The UK commits to supporting effortsto increase English language proficiency, through support for English teacherdevelopment, quality teaching, learning and assessment of English as well asdigital offers to support an inclusive approach.
We commit to promoting sustainable growth in science, technology andinnovation, and to helping Vietnam equip its workforce with essential skillsfor the digital age. This includes sharing expertise of online education toimprove the experience for both teachers and students.
The UK commits to supporting efforts to increase English languageproficiency, through support for English teacher development in schools,universities and key industries.
We encourage more Vietnamese students to choose the UK for highereducation and commit to exploring more opportunities for UK students, teachersand experts to come to Vietnam. We commit to encouraging more applications frommore diverse backgrounds to the UK’s Chevening Scholarships.
We will expand collaboration on research and innovation, includingclinical trials, vaccine development and measures to ensure the medical supplychain’s sustainability to cope with pandemic emergency, support global efforts to develop and deploysafe and equitable healthcare for everyone who needs it.
5. Defence, Security and Seriousorganised crime
We will continue ministerial and seniormilitary official level exchanges; including the annual Vice-MinisterialDefence Policy dialogue and the Defence Cooperation Working Group, in order tofurther enhance bilateral defence and security cooperation. Priority areas willinclude United Nations peacekeeping operations, military healthcare andtraining, English language provision, maritime security, including maritime lawenforcement capacity building, defence industry cooperation and collaborationon geospatial and hydrographic cooperation.
We will ensure the successful operation ofthe Vietnam – UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on criminal matters 2009 andthe Vietnam – UK Prisoner Transfer Agreement 2008, and related agreements onmigration and combating and preventing serious and organised crime.
We commit to increasing exchanges of delegations at Ministerial, Seniorofficials and desk officer level in order to further enhance bilateralcooperation to combat serious and organised crime. Priority areas include irregularmigration, people smuggling, human trafficking, child sex abuse and exploitation,cybercrime, transnational drug trafficking and money laundering/ economiccrime. We propose to hold annual migration talks at senior official levelenabling both sides to review cooperation and to discuss new challenges as wellas pathways for regular and safe migration, commit to developing a jointoperational team and increasing capacity building and training. We commit toprotecting and safeguarding the victims of these crimes. We commit to workingtowards an extradition treaty between Vietnam and the UK .
We also commit to strengthening legal andjudicial cooperation based on the UK - Vietnam Memorandum of Understanding onlegal and judicial cooperation signed in 2008.
6. People-to-People Links andEqual Rights
We commit to creating conditions to promote greater understandingbetween the peoples of both countries. We will encourage networks toconsolidate links and collaboration in arts, culture, sports, media, scientificresearch, and tourism.
The two sides will continue to foster inbound and outbound tourism andextend support to the operation of the Visit Vietnam Office in the UK. We willstrengthen cooperation in sports training and exchanges of sport experts andteams. The UK will share experiences and support Vietnam to organiseinternational sports events. The UK continues cooperation and supports Vietnamin developing cultural industries and promoting cooperation in organisingevents, exchanges of performing art troupes and experts in the field of art andculture.
We value the contribution of the Vietnamese community in the UK to thesocial and economic development of Vietnam and the UK, and in promotingfriendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Vietnam and the UK will co-operate in thepromotion and protection of human rights, including with regard to theimplementation of international human rights instruments to which they are party.
We will continue to work to encourage moremedia exchanges, promote greater access for each other’s media organisationsand more cooperation on capacity building and training.
We are both committed to promoting gender equality in our two countriesand ensuring access to education for everyone, especially for girls, around theworld.
7. Globaland regional issues
We commit to a closer coordination through multilateral fora, includingthe United Nations and within the framework of ASEAN. This will includeexchanges on promoting the rules based international system; maritime security;conflict prevention; non-proliferation; human rights; human trafficking, peoplesmuggling, women in peace and security, explosive remnants of war, climatechange, and environmental protection.
We reaffirm the importance of maintaining andpromoting peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation andoverflight, implementing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS) in good faith, pursuing the peaceful resolution of disputes withoutthe threat or use of force and respecting legal and diplomatic processes, inaccordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS. We express serious and continuedconcerns over developments in the South China Sea, including disruptiveactivities, land reclamation and militarisation of disputed features, andunderscore the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in theconduct of activities and avoidance of actions that may further complicate the situationor escalate disputes and affect peace and stability. We emphasise that UNCLOS isthe basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdictionand legitimate interests over maritime zones, and UNCLOS provides thecomprehensive legal framework within which all activities in the oceans andseas must be carried out. We reiterate the importance of the full and effectiveimplementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South ChinaSea (DOC) in its entirety as well as the swift conclusion of an effective andsubstantive Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC) that is consistentwith international law, particularly UNCLOS, without prejudice to the rights ofStates or the interests of third parties under international law.
We commit to strengthening the UK-ASEAN relationship to promotecollaboration in the three ASEAN communities: political-security, economic andsocio-cultural. The UK has submitted its application for Dialogue PartnerStatus under Vietnam’s Chair of ASEAN. Vietnam welcomes and supports the UK to furtherenhance its relationship with ASEAN.
Both sides commit to regular and working-level exchanges of views onregional issues of interest. Areas include recognising ASEAN centrality,strengthening ASEAN mechanisms and narrowing the development gap in ASEANthrough exchanges of best practices and assistance for capacity building, andensuring peace, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in thewaters in the Southeast Asia region and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Thisis coupled with deepening the UK-ASEAN trade and investment relationship,delivering future growth that is sustainable, inclusive and maximises theopportunities Industry 4.0 presents./.
VNA
