Vietnam - UK relations have made strong progress.

At the invitation of the Royal Family of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from May 4 to 6,President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong will lead the Vietnamese delegation to attend the coronation ceremony of King Charles III of England in the United Kingdom.

This event is especially meaningful in the context of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023, contributing to strengthening a favorable political foundation for promoting multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

Deepen political and diplomatic relations

On September 11, 1973, the United Kingdom was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the context of Vietnam still fighting for independence and national reunification.

Over the course of history, especially since the two countries decided to upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2010, Vietnam-UK relations have developed strongly.

In 2020, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries issued a Joint Statement on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership (2010-2020) with a vision towards upgrading the relationship to a higher level.

Since 2021, despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK has still sent many high-ranking delegations to visit Vietnam, such as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (June 2021); Defense Secretary Ben Wallace (July 2021); British Government Minister - President of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) - Alok Kumar Sharma (February 2022)...

On the Vietnamese side, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended COP26, visited and worked in the UK (November 2021), and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue paid an official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (June 2022).

British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew sees off President Vo Van Thuong on his way to attend the coronation of British King Charles III. (Photo: VNA).

The two sides also strengthened cooperation and closely coordinated with each other at multilateral forums and international organizations, especially at the United Nations (UN), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), the World Trade Organization (WTO), etc. Both sides are members of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2014-2016 term.

The UK promotes cooperation and takes advantage of Vietnam's role as ASEAN Chair 2020 to expand relations with ASEAN; Vietnam supports the UK's proposal to become an ASEAN Dialogue Partner.

The UK has proposed joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) (February 2021) and hopes Vietnam will support it.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation brings real benefits

Trade and investment cooperation is a highlight and a priority pillar in the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership. The UK is currently the third largest trading partner in the European market, the ninth largest export market of Vietnam and an important European investor in Vietnam.

During the period 2010-2018, the growth rate of bilateral import-export turnover between Vietnam and the UK increased by an average of 17.8% per year, 10% higher than the average of Vietnam, in which Vietnam continuously had a trade surplus.

The signing of the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) at the end of 2020 has helped trade turnover between the two countries increase by nearly 11% from 2020 to 2021. The total two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK in 2022 reached 6.83 billion USD, up 3.4% compared to 2021, and the total export value of Vietnam to the UK in 2022 reached 6.06 billion USD, up 5.2% compared to 2021.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received Mr. Kenneth Atkinson, Chairman of Britcham, and representatives of several British corporations and investment funds investing and doing business in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA).

Vietnam’s advantageous export items to the UK include seafood, wood and wood products, textiles, footwear, tin, computers, phones and electronic components, etc.; the main imported products from the UK are machinery, equipment for production, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, etc.

Investment cooperation has achieved impressive growth. As of the end of April 2023, the UK had 519 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of about 4.2 billion USD, ranking 15th out of 143 countries and territories with investment projects in Vietnam. UK investment projects are small and medium-sized, focusing on the fields of processing and manufacturing industry; real estate business; mining; wholesale and retail; auto and motorbike repair; accommodation and catering services...

Regarding development cooperation, the UK is one of Vietnam's leading donors (£50 million/year for the 2006-2010 period), and has completed a 10-year Development Partnership Agreement (ADP) with Vietnam for the 2006-2015 period.

Although the UK stopped providing ODA development aid in 2016, it still maintains support for Vietnam through development funds such as the Prosperity Fund and the Newton Fund, continuing to support Vietnam in developing technology, research and innovation, strengthening public governance, improving the business environment, green growth, renewable energy, etc.

Continue to nurture and enhance Vietnam - UK relations

Vietnam and the UK have continued to strengthen their close cooperation on global issues, especially in responding to climate change. The two countries are working towards the Just Energy Transition Programme (JETP); and closely and effectively cooperating in international and regional forums.

Vietnam and the UK always attach importance to and emphasize the importance of respecting and maintaining peace, stability, security, as well as ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea in accordance with international law, considering the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) as the legal framework for all activities at sea and in the ocean.

View of the Conference on 50 years of Vietnam-UK relations.

In the health sector, Vietnam and the UK have been actively and effectively cooperating through government agencies, non-governmental organizations and UK funds. In particular, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK has actively supported Vietnam in accessing vaccines and healthcare in general as the UK is one of the leading countries in researching and manufacturing vaccines to prevent and combat the pandemic.

The UK's AstraZeneca vaccine is the first vaccine licensed for circulation in Vietnam by the Ministry of Health. The UK supports Vietnam, putting Vietnam on the UK's priority list for providing COVID-19 vaccines to help ensure the success of Vietnam's vaccination program.

At the end of July 2021, the UK announced the bilateral provision to Vietnam of the first 415,000 doses of the total 100 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine supported globally by the UK Government (in addition to the COVAX mechanism, of which the UK is one of the largest contributors).

People-to-people interaction through education is one of the most important aspects of the Vietnam-UK bilateral relationship.

The UK is currently Vietnam's leading partner with 74 transnational education programs from 23 UK universities, helping Vietnam train tens of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students right in Vietnam. Regarding studying abroad, there are currently more than 12,000 Vietnamese students studying in the UK.

The Vietnamese community in the UK has about 110,000 people, generally living in harmony, stably, having positive activities, contributing to strengthening community solidarity and building the homeland.

View of the workshop "Vietnam-UK relations: Past, present and future of international economic relations" at London South Bank University. (Photo: VNA).

At the International Conference "50 years of Vietnam-UK diplomatic relations: Achievements and prospects" (March 21, 2023), Mr. Phan Anh Son, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, affirmed that over the past 50 years, the relationship has been continuously strengthened and developed, especially after the two countries signed a Joint Statement officially upgrading the relationship to a strategic partnership, opening up many frameworks and cooperation mechanisms between the two countries such as strategic dialogue, Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation, Defense Working Group, etc.

The two countries have continuously promoted cooperation in important areas such as security and defense, development cooperation, education and training, science and technology, sustainable development, and people-to-people exchange, creating a solid foundation for the development of bilateral relations. It can be said that the friendly relations between the two countries are in a very good period of development.

For his part, British Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Marcus Winsley commented that the relationship between Vietnam and the UK is at its best in the past 50 years.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the time for the two countries to raise their cooperation to a new level in many fields from politics, economics, education, security, defense, especially in the field of preventing and combating human trafficking and handling cross-border crimes.

Also at the International Conference "50 years of Vietnam-UK diplomatic relations: Achievements and prospects," Deputy Ambassador Marcus Winsley affirmed that the UK is ready to cooperate and support the Vietnamese Government in the field of improving English proficiency for the people. He also said that in the coming time, the two countries need to share more information on attracting investment, opening markets, and developing technology, in order to fulfill their commitment to sustainable development, ensuring the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050; and at the same time, cooperate towards JETP.

Meanwhile, Director of the Asia-Pacific Program and UK-Vietnam Bilateral Relations at Chatham House, Mr. Ben Bland, made some suggestions to promote relations between the two countries in the coming time.

According to him, the two countries have many things in common, but also some differences. Therefore, both sides need to frankly and honestly discuss these differences, in addition to finding common points and areas that can maximize bilateral cooperation.

Mr. Ben Bland emphasized that working together with the governments of the two countries to bring the Vietnam-UK relationship to a new level, not only state agencies and governments, but also research institutes, universities and associations, can contribute to come up with initiatives to continue to nurture and elevate the Vietnam-UK relationship...

Looking back at the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United Kingdom, it can be seen that the trustful relationship between the two countries has brought great and long-term benefits to the people of both countries. And the event of President Vo Van Thuong leading the Vietnamese delegation to attend the coronation ceremony of King Charles III of England taking place in the United Kingdom will contribute to further deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

(According to VNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/quan-he-viet-nam--anh-da-co-nhung-buoc-phat-trien-manh-me-post246232.html