British official in Vietnam to boost accession to CPTPP

Minister of State Greg Hands of the UK Department for International Trade (L) meets with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh on February 1. (Photo: British Embassy in Vietnam)

Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of State Greg Hands of the UK Department forInternational Trade arrived in Hanoi on February 1 for high-level trade talkson how the UK joining of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will boost the economic firepower of the world’smost dynamic trade bloc, according to the British Embassy.

Vietnamwas the first leg of his three-day Asia-Pacific tour, which also includesMalaysia and Singapore. The visit aims to promote the UK’s engagement in the CPTPP, ofwhich Vietnam is a founding member.

It wasalso an opportunity to mark the 50th anniversary of the UK - Vietnam diplomatic relationsand discuss the thriving bilateral trade relationship, which has increased12.4% over the last year and is valued at 5.9 billion GBP (7.3 billion USD),the embassy noted.

With the next round ofCPTPP negotiations coming soon, the minister expressed the UK’s desire to finaliseaccession at the earliest opportunity.

Speakingof his visit, Minister Greg Hands said: “Joining CPTPP will add even moreeconomic firepower to this exciting and dynamic trade alliance, adding 2trillion GBP to CPTPP’s GDP.”/.

VNA