ON THE SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF GENERAL SECRETARY TO LAM'S OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, BRINGING THE VIETNAM-UK RELATIONS TO A NEW, MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND STRONGER LEVEL

Responding to a press interview about the results and significance of the visit, Party Central Committee Secretary and Foreign Minister LE HOAI TRUNG said that General Secretary To Lam's visit affirmed Vietnam's role, position and foreign vision, when the two countries agreed to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on six pillars of cooperation, thereby bringing bilateral relations to a new, more comprehensive and stronger level.

Identifying 6 pillars of cooperation

- Could you please tell us about the outstanding results and significance of General Secretary To Lam 's recent working trip to the UK?

- As we know, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking delegation of the Party and State of Vietnam, paid an official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) from October 28 to 30 at the invitation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The visit is one of Vietnam's important foreign affairs activities in 2025, helping to affirm the stature of the Vietnam - UK relationship in the overall foreign policy of each country, especially in the current volatile and challenging world context.

Party Central Committee Secretary, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung.

During the visit, General Secretary To Lam and the Vietnamese delegation had many (more than 20) important activities, notably talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meetings and receptions hosted by British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, meetings with representatives of the British Royal Family, the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and major political parties in the UK. The General Secretary also delivered an important policy speech at Oxford University, met and discussed with representatives of the business community, leading corporations in the UK, experts and scholars in science and technology, met with representatives of the community and the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK. The General Secretary and the delegation also visited the tomb of Karl Marx - the leader of the world proletariat, expressing their respect for the philosopher who had a great impact on the progressive ideological values of humanity.

The British side closely coordinated with us to organize the activities of the General Secretary and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation in the UK in a spirit of respect and hospitality with exceptional reception arrangements.

The visit was a great success with many important activities achieving effective and substantive results.

First of all, the highlight of the visit was that Vietnam and the UK agreed to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level of relations in Vietnam's partnership framework. In the Joint Statement on establishing a new level of relations, as well as in the exchange, General Secretary To Lam and British leaders agreed on strategic measures, identifying six pillars of cooperation commensurate with the new level of bilateral relations, namely: strengthening political, diplomatic, defense and security cooperation; strengthening economic, trade, investment and financial cooperation; strengthening cooperation in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and health; cooperation in environment, energy and green transformation; strengthening cooperation in education, culture, sports, tourism, people-to-people exchange, and equal rights; and cooperation in international and regional issues.

Second, within the framework of the visit, agencies, organizations and businesses of both sides agreed and signed many important cooperation agreements, with many substantive and specific contents, in many new fields, which are meaningful to the development of the two countries, especially in cooperation between enterprises, large corporations, educational institutions between the two countries, as well as between agencies and major cities of each side. The UK is one of the world's major financial centers, and is also a leader in the field of science and technology, so the new cooperation framework has opened up opportunities for both sides. A number of Vietnamese enterprises and research institutions have begun research cooperation with British universities and organizations, especially in the fields of high technology and education and training.

Third, during the exchange, British leaders and partners expressed their impression of Vietnam's great achievements in all aspects, showing their respect for Vietnam's position and role in the Asia-Pacific region as well as many issues of interest to the international community. General Secretary To Lam's policy speech at Oxford University received special attention and high appreciation from British policy researchers, who considered it an important contribution to clarifying Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development.

Through this, the UK and the world will have a better understanding of Vietnam's 40 years of innovation achievements, as well as our foreign policy. In addition, it is also important that British partners expressed their readiness to soon implement the contents agreed in the Joint Statement on upgrading the Vietnam - UK relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, such as sharing information, experience, knowledge, and expertise in diverse fields, from finance, science, technology, innovation, to healthcare, green finance, clean energy, and disaster risk reduction. Specifically, it is possible to mention the establishment of new dialogue mechanisms to improve the business environment between the two countries, creating conditions for the effective implementation and review of the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) as well as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Fourth, the visit also contributes to enhancing Vietnam’s position in Europe and at multilateral forums and mechanisms in Europe, while actively contributing to promoting the role of ASEAN as well as ASEAN-Europe relations. Thereby, the position of our Party and country in the international arena continues to be consolidated, creating a foundation for further strengthening relations with partners in the coming time.

Fifth, the visit also contributes to promoting the close relationship between the Vietnamese people and the British people, as well as the spirit of solidarity and attachment of Vietnamese people in the UK, encouraging the community to make more and more practical contributions to the development and advancement of the country, especially in the context of more and more Vietnamese people achieving many achievements in various fields in the UK, creating a deeper foundation for connections between the two countries.

With such important results, the visit is very meaningful not only for promoting our relationship with a major country in Europe and the world, but also creating new conditions and impetus for taking advantage of more favorable conditions for the country's new development stage.

By establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the UK, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, the world's 6th largest economy and one of the world's major centers of economics, finance, trade, science and technology, education and training, Vietnam has continued to actively and proactively implement its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, multilateralization and diversification of relations. The visit has brought a consistent message about our foreign policy of multilateralization and diversification of foreign relations, promoting harmonious relations with partners in other regions. The exchanges and agreements between the UK and us also demonstrate our respect for the leadership of our Party and our achievements in the process of development and innovation over the past nearly 40 years.

In the context of the complicated international situation, our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework with all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, bringing the total number of Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships to 14, contributes to consolidating the favorable foreign situation for the country and enhancing the position of the Party. The Vietnam - UK relationship opens a new chapter with higher political trust, creating a foundation for long-term strategic cooperation in all fields.

The rich content of the Joint Statement as well as the diverse agreements reached during the visit with a partner with great potential in economics, science and technology, national defense, security, etc. like the UK also opened up very meaningful opportunities for the implementation of the Party's major and important policies and guidelines, the directions of General Secretary To Lam, especially the key resolutions, to have more specific conditions to achieve progress, contributing to the implementation of the country's strategic goals in the coming period. The fact that our agencies, organizations and corporations reached the above agreements with the UK also shows the capacity and ability at a new level in participating in new and important areas of international cooperation.

Promote the development of a Joint Action Plan to materialize the Joint Statement

- In the coming time, could you please tell us about the major orientations to implement the important results achieved during General Secretary To Lam's recent working trip to the UK?

- It can be said that the extremely good results achieved during the General Secretary's recent official visit to the UK have brought the bilateral relationship to a new, more comprehensive and stronger level. This is a clear affirmation that each side is not only a trade partner, an educational partner, a science and technology partner of the other, but also a long-term strategic partner to jointly shape the standards of cooperation in the new era.

In the coming time, on the basis of synchronous coordination between ministries, sectors and localities, Vietnam and the UK will effectively implement the results of the visit, especially the Joint Statement on the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, promote the development of a Joint Action Plan to concretize the Joint Statement; and continue to effectively implement the previously reached agreements. That process focuses on the following key points:

Firstly, focus on enhancing political trust between the two countries through high-level and all-level delegation exchanges, commensurate with the current new level of relations. Promote the effective implementation of existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements and new cooperation mechanisms in line with potential and actual needs. The important issue is not just the signing, but the effective implementation of agreements, both demonstrating Vietnam's commitment and making good use of the opportunities and favorable conditions that these agreements bring. To do this, each ministry, branch, locality and enterprise needs to review, urge and inspect the implementation of cooperation mechanisms and signed agreements to truly promote effectiveness, best serving the development goals of each side in the new period.

Second, focus on promoting proposals and initiatives in cooperation between the UK's strengths in developing international financial centers, innovation, telecommunications, sustainable energy transition, high technology, biomedicine... with the needs of digital transformation, green transformation, improving the quality of human resources, and innovating development management in Vietnam. As General Secretary To Lam said at Oxford University, this "co-creation of the future" cooperation will be "a living resource, a network of knowledge and technology stretching from Hanoi to London".

Third, strengthen connectivity, close coordination and enhance the role in international and regional forums such as the United Nations and ASEAN; promote trade relations based on rules and equality; promote cooperation in the fields of science and technology, and protect financial systems to contribute to peace, stability and development in the regions and the world.

Fourth, implement measures to improve the effectiveness of important work in other areas such as cultural exchange and work with Vietnamese people in the UK, thereby further promoting the role of these areas to promote friendship, understanding and an increasingly deep and solid foundation for cooperation between Vietnam and the UK.

Although the international and regional situation may continue to develop complicatedly and pose many difficulties, Vietnam has new favorable conditions that need to be effectively exploited. Taking advantage of international agreements and new cooperation frameworks in key areas will help Vietnam supplement important resources for the country's development in the new era.

- Thank you very much, Minister!

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