Strengthening cooperation between localities of Vietnam and Birmingham City, UK

Within the framework of the Vietnam Days in the UK program to celebrate 50 years of Vietnam-UK relations, on April 24, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long visited and held talks with Mayor of Birmingham, Ms. Maureen Cornish, at the mayor's office, to discuss cooperation opportunities between Birmingham and Vietnam in general and Vietnamese localities in particular.

Photo caption — Mayor of Birmingham Maureen Cornish welcomes Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long

According to the VNA correspondent in the UK, at the working session, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long said that with its favorable location in the centre of the UK, Birmingham is considered one of the driving forces for Vietnam-UK relations. The Ambassador said that as a major commercial centre of the central region of the UK and the UK as a whole with its strength in logistics, Birmingham could become a trade-logistics centre for Vietnamese exports, currently the second largest exporter of goods to the UK in Southeast Asia. With the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), two-way trade between Vietnam and the UK is currently at nearly 7 billion USD, expected to continue to increase and Vietnam will need logistics centres in the UK to easily connect Vietnamese businesses with the UK market, while turning the UK into a centre for Vietnamese exports to other markets such as the European Union (EU), the US, etc.

Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long also pointed out the opportunities for cooperation ineducation, training, health care, and culture between Birmingham and Vietnam, especially in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which want to develop into innovation centers operated by universities. The Ambassador said that Vietnam has a need to develop areas such as information technology, artificial intelligence, science and technology, commerce, and public relations - which are advantageous training fields of Aston University (Birmingham), where many Vietnamese students study. The Ambassador said that this is the foundation and model for bilateral cooperation, aiming to cooperate with a number of British universities to establish Vietnamese-UK universities in Vietnam. The Ambassador pointed out that the large community of Vietnamese and students living and working in Birmingham is an advantage in connecting and promoting cooperation between the city and Vietnam. The Ambassador expressed his hope that the city government would propose to the British government a strategy to promote trade between localities in the UK and Vietnam as well as support British businesses to invest in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

For her part, Mayor Maureen Cornish said Birmingham is a multi-ethnic city with more than 50% of its population coming from different countries, including a large Vietnamese community with unique cultural features, affirming that the city government has a close relationship with the Vietnamese community. Ms. Cornish said that as a young, dynamic and potential city, Birmingham is always interested in developing friendly relations and building partnerships with localities around the world, including Vietnam, pointing out many potential areas of cooperation with Vietnam such as artificial intelligence, science and technology, etc. She said that Birmingham currently has sister city relationships with a number of cities in Korea, believing that with the support of the government, this cooperation model can be expanded to localities in other countries, including Vietnam. The Mayor of Birmingham expressed his affection for the Vietnamese community, affirming that the city government always supports and assists the Vietnamese community as well as other communities in the city's development process with policies providing finance to associations, chambers of commerce, and universities to promote business and investment opportunities; develop education; and strengthen network connections to find investment destinations for businesses.