Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long (Photo: VNA)Among the cooperation achievements,the most important is that the two sides have set up frameworks for comprehensiveand concrete cooperation in various spheres, he told the Vietnam News Agency onthe occasion of the 50th anniversary of the countries’ diplomaticties (September 11, 1973 - 2023),
In 2010, they signed a jointstatement on establishing a strategic partnership. In 2020, a new jointstatement on the strategic partnership was released, identifying seven priorityareas: politics - diplomacy; trade - investment - business; sustainabledevelopment and growth; education - training and science - technology; defence,security, and organised crime fight; people-to-people ties; and internationalaffairs.
The countries also affirmed thatthey will work to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level in the subsequent 10 years, Long noted.
The ambassador held that bilateralcooperation potential remains huge, particularly in the fields matching the UK’sstrength and Vietnam’s demand.
In terms of trade and investment,both economies boast high degrees of openness and complementarity. After Brexit– the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, this country wishes to become more connectedwith the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, Vietnam should further capitalise onthese opportunities and potential, he elaborated.
There is also much cooperation potential in education and science - technology,so it is necessary to maintain and expand scholarship programmes such asChevening, increase the reception of Vietnamese students in the UK, and boostthe Newton Programme Vietnam.
The talks between Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab in Hanoi in 2021 (Photo: VNA)Long perceived that this will be animportant field of cooperation between the two countries in the time ahead.
To further enhance bilateral relations, the two countries should increasehigh-level mutual visits to create a new impulse for their ties; continueeffectively implementing the signed cooperation frameworks, including the UK -Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), the JETP, and cooperation mechanisms ineducation, science - technology, security, defence; and build and approvedetailed action plans to realise their commitments and cooperation prioritiesin the coming time, he noted.
This year, as the diplomatic tiesturn 50, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK is planning to hold 50 events of culturalexchanges, trade and investment promotion, educational cooperation, andpeopleto-people ties across the European nation, including photo exhibitions onthe 50 years of bilateral relations; the Vietnam Days in London; and the MeetVietnam events in Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Wales andScotland. In particular, the embassy has oraganised a series of events to revisit theBritish places where President Ho Chi Minh used to stay in during his overseas journeyto seek ways to save the homeland, according to the diplomat./.
VNA
