At a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Birmingham (Photo: VNA) London (VNA) – A seminar connectingVietnam and the West Midlands region of the UK took place in the UK city of Birminghamon October 10.
Co-hosted by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’sDepartment of Foreign Affairs for Provinces and the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK,the event was part of a promotion programme for Vietnamese localities in the UK this year, withleaders of Hanoi, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh, Lam Dong, Kien Giang and Phu Quoc and over100 delegates representing the UK’s associations, organisations and businessestaking part.
In his welcome speech, Lord Mayor ofBirmingham Chaman Lal said Birmingham, with strengths in education, health care, finance and commerce, is particularlyinterested in fostering friendly relations and building cooperative ties with localitiesacross the world, including those in Vietnam.
He also pointed out several potential areasof cooperation with Vietnamese localities, such as sci-tech, high technology,artificial intelligence and industry.
The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy MarkGarnier said West Midlands gives priority to development in varioussectors, including industry, services, education and culture.
He hoped that the visit of the Vietnamese localleaders will enable both sides to gain a better understanding about each other andcontribute to promoting investment and trade.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese Ambassadorto the UK Nguyen Hoang Long, for his part, said with the UK's entry to theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),two-way trade between Vietnam and the UK will keep rising.
Vietnam needs logistics and services inthe UK to facilitate connections to the European country and to establish the UKas a hub for Vietnamese exports to other markets such as the European Union(EU) and the US, he said, adding that Birmingham specifically and the WestMidlands in general possess strengths and experience in green transformation,industry, education, health care, and more. When combined with the advantagesof Vietnamese localities, this partnership potentially brings significant andpractical benefits to all sides involved.
Through promotional videos and illustrativeimages, the Vietnamese local representatives provided concise and vividinformation about the potential and strengths of their areas. They alsointroduced a list of projects in need of investment in industrial production,high-quality agriculture, renewable energy, education, workforce training,tourism, infrastructure and smart city development.
The UK partners expressed their wish tocontinue discussing and cooperating with the Vietnamese localities for mutualbenefits.
A representative from the GreaterBirmingham Chambers of Commerce also shared bilateral cooperationopportunities in the fields of education, training and high technology, and howto effectively tap opportunities arising from the Vietnam-UK Free TradeAgreement./.
