Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab in Hanoi on September 30 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese DeputyPrime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with UK Secretaryof State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretaryof State Dominic Raab in Hanoi on September 30, during which they agreed onjoint efforts towards a higher level of the bilateral strategic partnership.
Minh welcomed Raab’s official visit to Vietnamon September 29-30, which takes place at a special time when the two countriesare celebrating 10 years of their strategic partnership, believing that thetrip will create new momentum for the bilateral relations.
He affirmed that Vietnam always considers the UKa leading important partner and highly values the latter’s role on theinternational arena.
For his part, Raab expressed his delight at hisfirst visit to Vietnam and that he is the first European politician to come tothe Southeast Asian nation since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
The UK Government wants to effectively promotethe strategic partnership with Vietnam, and it also appreciates Vietnam’sincreasingly important role and position in the Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asianregions, he stressed.
At the talks, both officials noted withsatisfaction that since the Vietnam-UK diplomatic ties were founded in 1973,especially since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2010, the bilateralcooperation has been developing extensively and effectively.
They underlined the determination to build a newvision for the Vietnam-UK ties for the next 10 years and make joint efforts todevelop the strategic partnership to a higher level.
They agreed to build plans to resume all-leveldelegation exchanges when possible and increase substantive content incooperation mechanisms, especially the security-defence strategic dialogue, thejoint committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation, and the defencedialogue.
The two sides shared the view that their countries’economic links have grown impressively, with bilateral trade hitting 6.6billion USD in 2019 and the UK’s direct investment in Vietnam reaching 3.7billion USD.
The officials also agreed to facilitatepartnerships between Vietnamese and UK businesses and investors, particularlyin the areas the UK has strengths and Vietnam has demand for like hightechnology, telecommunications, oil and gas, finance, banking, insurance,renewable energy development, and smart city building so as to help with post-pandemicgrowth recovery and make use of the shift of supply chains and investment.
The talks between the Vietnamese and UK officials in Hanoi on September 30 (Photo: VNA)Minh acknowledged the UK Government’s activesupport for the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Meanwhile, Raab thanked Vietnam for agreeing toapply this deal to the UK in the Brexit transition period, reiterating thecountry’s commitment to soon finalising the negotiation on an FTA between thetwo countries so that it can take effect early.
Besides, they discussed ways to enhanceconnections in important spheres such as security-defence, developmentcooperation, education-training, science-technology, sustainable development,people-to-people exchange, as well as cooperation between the two foreignministries so as to help reinforce the strategic partnership.
They also spoke highly of Vietnam-UK cooperationat multilateral forums, especially when Vietnam concurrently serves as ASEANChair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for2020-2021.
The two countries will enhance coordination toboost the UK’s ties with ASEAN and to prepare for the UN Climate ChangeConference (COP26) that the European nation will host next year.
At the talks, Minh and Raab also exchanged viewson international and regional issues of mutual concern.
They emphasised their support formultilateralism, a rules-based regional and international order, and internationalcoordination to cope with common challenges like maritime security, climatechange, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both officials stressed the importance ofmaintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight,resolving disputes via peaceful measures, not using or threatening to useforce, and respecting international law, including the 1982 UN Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They voiced their support for the Chairman’sStatement of the 36th ASEAN Summit and the joint communiqué of the 53th ASEANForeign Ministers’ Meeting, which affirm that the 1982 UNCLOS is the legalframework regulating all activities in the seas and oceans.
Concluding the talks, the two sides issued a “JointDeclaration on the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership: Forging Ahead for Another10 years”.
Later on September 30, representing Vietnam asASEAN Chair in 2020, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh chaired an expandedtroika meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and their UK counterpart.
The Vietnamese official applauded the UK’sactive role in promoting dialogue and cooperation in the region, suggesting thetwo sides work together in developing and producing COVID-19 vaccines,improving healthcare capacity, ensuring supply chains, maintaining trade andinvestment connectivity, and encouraging UK businesses to operate in ASEAN.
Meanwhile, Raab affirmed the UK’s support forASEAN’s central role and highly valued the bloc’s achievements in the communitybuilding.
He also announced the UK’s aid package worth 50million GBP for ASEAN’s response to COVID-19.
The UK also proposed stronger cooperation inmaritime security, the law of the sea, and climate change response./.
VNA
