Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and Mark Field (Source: baochinhphu.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hosteda reception for Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific of the ForeignAffairs and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom (UK) ofGreat Britain and North Ireland Mark Field in Hanoi on January 2.
The UK official is in Vietnam to attend the Vietnam-UK deputy foreignminister-level political consultation.
Deputy PM and FM Minh applauded the outcomes of the consultation between VietnameseDeputy FM Bui Thanh Son and Mark Field, as well as the recent positive developmentof the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership in many important fields such as politics-diplomacy,trade-investment, education-training, defence-security, climate changeadaptation, and UN peacekeeping operation.
Minh suggested the UK Government hurry the European Union (EU) to earlysign and approve the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), whileappreciating the UK side’s proposals to boost trade and investment cooperation betweenthe two countries after the UK officially leaves the EU.
He spoke highly of the UK’s role in security and developmentissues in the world, and agreed that the two sides will work closely atmultilateral forums, thus contributing to ensuring peace, stability andcooperation in the region and the world.
For his part, Mark Field highly valued Vietnam’ssocio-economic development and international integration achievements maderecently, as well as the fruitful development of the bilateral relations inrecent times.
He affirmed that the UK Government continuously gives priority to developing itsrelations with Vietnam – a country which has the increasingly important voice inASEAN and in the Asia Pacific region.-VNA
VNA
