Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (R) and UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei Mark Garnier (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Industry and Trade NguyenHong Dien hosted a reception in Hanoi on March 13 for UK Prime Minister’s TradeEnvoy for Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei Mark Garnier and UK ConsulGeneral in Ho Chi Minh City Emily Hamblin to discuss two-way trade towardcelebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties thisyear.
Dien congratulated the UK on completing the fifth talkson joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) in Vietnam’s southern province of Kien Giang in earlyMarch.
Through this event, Vietnam reaffirmed strongsupport for the UK's accession to the deal and the further deepening of notonly diplomatic ties but also friendly and multi-faceted cooperation betweenthe two countries, he said.
He noted the trend of green transition inbilateral trade and called on the UK to support the transfer of greentechnologies to Vietnam, promote trade in eco-friendly products, meet marketstandards, and take advantage of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).
Dien also had detailed discussions on theplans set for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, including aseries of events jointly organised by the two countries’ agencies. He hopedthat they would be a success, marking a brilliant year of development in bilateralrelationship.
Thanking the UK for joining other countries to provide 15.5billion USD for Vietnam’s transition to clean energy and emission reduction,the minister suggested both sides immediately issue a roadmap and necessarymechanisms to use this fund effectively.
The host proposed cooperating with the UK in the development ofnuclear power, human resources training, technological transfer and policycounselling, especially producing equipment for renewable energy, technology inenergy transition and smart grid operation centres.
Garnier, for his part, hoped that Vietnam would continue helpingthe UK call on other countries to complete CPTPP negotiations.
Hecongratulated Vietnam on being the second country in ASEAN, behind Indonesia,to successfully sign the Political Declaration on Just Energy TransitionPartnership (JETP) with the UK, EU, and G7 countries.
Hailing Dien’sproposals, he affirmed the UK's commitment to sharing its experience,expertise, patents and technology with Vietnam to enable the country to produceproducts in service of renewable energy, adding that the two countries are stepping up the establishment of an offshore wind developmentcentre as well as embarking on a series of cooperative activities to shareexperience in this field.
At the reception (Photo: VNA)
Following the meeting, both sides couldquickly build a cooperation programme to effectively realise reached agreementsas soon as possible, the host said.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, two-waytrade between Vietnam and the UK hit 6.83 billion USD in 2022, up 3.4% annually.Of which, Vietnam's exports rose by 5.2% to over 6.06 billion USD. However, theUK's exports to Vietnam decreased by 9.2% to 771 million USD.
As ofDecember 20, 2022, the UK recorded 507 projects in Vietnam with a total capitalof over 4.19 billion USD, ranking 15th out of 141 countries andterritories investing in the country. Last year, the UK had a total of 53 new projectsworth 64.33 million USD in Vietnam./.
