UK Prime Minister David Cameron has granted an exclusive interview toVietnamPlus, the online newspaper run by the Vietnam News Agency, aheadof his upcoming visit to Vietnam slated for July 29-30.
The following is the full text of the interview:
Question: In January 2013, General Secretary of the Communist Partyof Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong paid an official visit to the UK at theinvitation of the UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The visit helpedfurther strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.What will be your plan to further improve the bilateral UK-VN relations?
Answer: I’m delighted to be the first British Prime Minister tovisit Vietnam. I think there is a great opportunity to deepen andexpand the relationship between our two countries and that’s what myvisit is all about.
The UK and Vietnam already have a strongtrading relationship with UK exports to Vietnam up by 12 percent lastyear but I think there is still huge untapped potential. That’s why I’vebrought a planeload of business men and women with me so they can seefor themselves the opportunities in this exciting emerging market. With ayoung, tech-savvy population and the fastest growing middle class inSouth East Asia, I believe British businesses have much to offer.
Weshould build on the Strategic Partnership, signed between our twocountries in 2010, which committed to working more closely on trade andinvestment, development, education and training, science and technologyand security and defence.
Question: The UK has many a timeconfirmed the need to ensure security, safety and free navigation in theEast Sea as well as to settle all disputes in the region in a peacefulmanner in respect of international laws. What will the UK do to push thefinalisation of COC between ASEAN and China? What is the UK viewtowards China’s land reclamation in the East Sea?
Answer: We areconcerned about the tensions in the South China Sea (which Vietnam callsEast Sea) and the potential effects on regional peace, security andglobal prosperity. While we take no position on underlying sovereigntyclaims, we are clear that provocative behaviour challenges regionalstability and continue to call on all parties to settle maritime andother disputes in accordance with international law and the UNConvention.
We underlined this commitment at the G7 Summit inGermany last month when, with our partners there, we made clear that wewant to maintain a rules-based order in the maritime domain based on theprinciples of international law, in particular as reflected in the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea and we emphasised the importance ofpeaceful dispute settlement as well as free and unimpeded lawful use ofthe world’s oceans.
Question: The UK and Vietnam arepromoting their defence and security relations. In addition tocooperation in the fight against serious crimes, includinginternationally-organised crimes and illegal immigration, what are theother areas of cooperation in terms of security and defence?
Answer:Both our nations already co-operate on defence and maritime issues andwe work together to tackle crimes such as modern slavery, child sexualexploitation, cyber and financial offences.
I was pleasedthat Vietnam attended the WeProtect Summit in London last December andthe UK does significant work within Vietnam to help reintegrate victimsof human trafficking as well as raising awareness of the risks of thisabhorrent trade. And I’m keen to step up co-operation in this area inthe months ahead.
In the area of defence, we already provideprofessional and specialist training for officers from the VietnameseMinistry of National Defence. I hope that, as a result of this visit, wewill deepen our cooperation and the Vietnamese government’s appointmentof a Defence Attaché in London will provide further opportunities to doso.
Question: Trade is the core area of discussion during thevisit to the UK in 2013 by the Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong. What hasthe UK done to promote the signing of the Vietnam-EU Free TradeAgreement and for an early recognition of the market regulations forVietnam? The two-way trade turnover is under 4 billion USD. Does thisfigure reflect the potential of the two countries?
Answer: Ithink there is great potential to increase trade between our countriesfor the benefit of British businesses and Vietnamese businesses too. Itwill be a top priority of my visit and that’s why I’m going to Ho ChiMinh as well as Hanoi and it’s why I’ve got a planeload of business menand women with me. As Vietnam continues to develop and to expand itsinfrastructure, I think our world-class engineering and energy companieshave a lot to offer. And there is also a great opportunity for the UKand Vietnam to work together on education, science and innovation.
TheUK is one of the strongest supporters of free trade in the EU and wehave put our weight fully behind an EU-Vietnam free trade agreement. I’mdelighted that negotiations appear to be closer to conclusion and Ihope that paves the way to get the deal signed, sealed and delivered sothat it can start benefiting businesses both in Europe and Vietnam.
Question:In your opinion, what should the Vietnamese Government and itsbusinesses do to overcome all commercial barriers, thus increasing itsexports to the UK and to other EU countries?
Answer: This visitwill provide me with an opportunity to hear from British and Vietnamesebusinesses about how they can improve trade links. This kind of opendialogue between government and business is vital for creating acompetitive economic environment. It’s right that we are responsive tothe needs of business and try to remove unnecessary barriers becausethat’s how we open up new opportunities that can spur growth and createjobs.
In negotiating both the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership, the Vietnamese governmentis showing real willingness and I continue to encourage them to open upmarkets and encourage greater transparency.-VNA
The following is the full text of the interview:
Question: In January 2013, General Secretary of the Communist Partyof Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong paid an official visit to the UK at theinvitation of the UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The visit helpedfurther strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.What will be your plan to further improve the bilateral UK-VN relations?
Answer: I’m delighted to be the first British Prime Minister tovisit Vietnam. I think there is a great opportunity to deepen andexpand the relationship between our two countries and that’s what myvisit is all about.
The UK and Vietnam already have a strongtrading relationship with UK exports to Vietnam up by 12 percent lastyear but I think there is still huge untapped potential. That’s why I’vebrought a planeload of business men and women with me so they can seefor themselves the opportunities in this exciting emerging market. With ayoung, tech-savvy population and the fastest growing middle class inSouth East Asia, I believe British businesses have much to offer.
Weshould build on the Strategic Partnership, signed between our twocountries in 2010, which committed to working more closely on trade andinvestment, development, education and training, science and technologyand security and defence.
Question: The UK has many a timeconfirmed the need to ensure security, safety and free navigation in theEast Sea as well as to settle all disputes in the region in a peacefulmanner in respect of international laws. What will the UK do to push thefinalisation of COC between ASEAN and China? What is the UK viewtowards China’s land reclamation in the East Sea?
Answer: We areconcerned about the tensions in the South China Sea (which Vietnam callsEast Sea) and the potential effects on regional peace, security andglobal prosperity. While we take no position on underlying sovereigntyclaims, we are clear that provocative behaviour challenges regionalstability and continue to call on all parties to settle maritime andother disputes in accordance with international law and the UNConvention.
We underlined this commitment at the G7 Summit inGermany last month when, with our partners there, we made clear that wewant to maintain a rules-based order in the maritime domain based on theprinciples of international law, in particular as reflected in the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea and we emphasised the importance ofpeaceful dispute settlement as well as free and unimpeded lawful use ofthe world’s oceans.
Question: The UK and Vietnam arepromoting their defence and security relations. In addition tocooperation in the fight against serious crimes, includinginternationally-organised crimes and illegal immigration, what are theother areas of cooperation in terms of security and defence?
Answer:Both our nations already co-operate on defence and maritime issues andwe work together to tackle crimes such as modern slavery, child sexualexploitation, cyber and financial offences.
I was pleasedthat Vietnam attended the WeProtect Summit in London last December andthe UK does significant work within Vietnam to help reintegrate victimsof human trafficking as well as raising awareness of the risks of thisabhorrent trade. And I’m keen to step up co-operation in this area inthe months ahead.
In the area of defence, we already provideprofessional and specialist training for officers from the VietnameseMinistry of National Defence. I hope that, as a result of this visit, wewill deepen our cooperation and the Vietnamese government’s appointmentof a Defence Attaché in London will provide further opportunities to doso.
Question: Trade is the core area of discussion during thevisit to the UK in 2013 by the Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong. What hasthe UK done to promote the signing of the Vietnam-EU Free TradeAgreement and for an early recognition of the market regulations forVietnam? The two-way trade turnover is under 4 billion USD. Does thisfigure reflect the potential of the two countries?
Answer: Ithink there is great potential to increase trade between our countriesfor the benefit of British businesses and Vietnamese businesses too. Itwill be a top priority of my visit and that’s why I’m going to Ho ChiMinh as well as Hanoi and it’s why I’ve got a planeload of business menand women with me. As Vietnam continues to develop and to expand itsinfrastructure, I think our world-class engineering and energy companieshave a lot to offer. And there is also a great opportunity for the UKand Vietnam to work together on education, science and innovation.
TheUK is one of the strongest supporters of free trade in the EU and wehave put our weight fully behind an EU-Vietnam free trade agreement. I’mdelighted that negotiations appear to be closer to conclusion and Ihope that paves the way to get the deal signed, sealed and delivered sothat it can start benefiting businesses both in Europe and Vietnam.
Question:In your opinion, what should the Vietnamese Government and itsbusinesses do to overcome all commercial barriers, thus increasing itsexports to the UK and to other EU countries?
Answer: This visitwill provide me with an opportunity to hear from British and Vietnamesebusinesses about how they can improve trade links. This kind of opendialogue between government and business is vital for creating acompetitive economic environment. It’s right that we are responsive tothe needs of business and try to remove unnecessary barriers becausethat’s how we open up new opportunities that can spur growth and createjobs.
In negotiating both the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership, the Vietnamese governmentis showing real willingness and I continue to encourage them to open upmarkets and encourage greater transparency.-VNA
