Rapid action urged following ratification of UK partnership

The signing of a declaration to establish a strategic partnership between Viet Nam and the United Kingdom was an important event, creating a firm foundation for long-term relations, said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Khiem, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs, said UK leaders supported a quick realisation of the partnership, especially in the fields of economic, trade, investment, education and training and science and technology.

“The building of a strategic partnership co-operation with the UK is lively evidence of the sound foreign policy of our Party and State in multilateralisation and diversification of international relations,” Khiem said.

“The position of Viet Nam continues to be enhanced in terms of being a trustworthy and responsible partner of the international community, actively contributing to peace, stability and co-operation in the region and the world,” Khiem said.

The prioritised fields of co-operation would be politics – diplomatic, regional and global issues, trade – investment, security – national defence and social exchanges.

Khiem said that in each field, relevant ministries and industries of the two countries would co-operate to build specific working plans as well as mechanisms to monitor their implementation.

Some of key objectives would include bringing the annual bilateral trade revenues to US$4 billion and the UK’s foreign direct investment in Viet Nam to $3 billion by 2013.

The two countries would focus on opening the Viet Nam-UK University in central Da Nang City and the two sides would work on traditional areas such as poverty reduction and healthcare. The UK would prioritise the Official Development Assistance in the fields of climate change and scientific research.

The two countries would carry out the strategic dialogue mechanisms on enhancing co-operation in politics and security, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to contribute to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Last year, the bilateral trade between Viet Nam and the UK reached more than $2 billion and the UK’s foreign direct investment in Viet Nam was nearly $2.5 billion in 131 investment projects. The UK is the leading investor in Viet Nam in finance, banking and insurance.

Every year, the UK grants Viet Nam approximately $100 million as non-refundable aid, the highest among EU countries, and it was the first country in the EU which committed to providing development assistance to Viet Nam until 2015.

There are more than 7,000 Vietnamese students studying and doing research in the UK. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam UK cooperation