General Secretary To Lam visits the UK: Bringing bilateral relations to a new height

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang hopes that General Secretary To Lam's upcoming official visit to the UK will bring the bilateral relationship between the two countries to a new, more comprehensive and stronger level.

Expected to create new breakthroughs in cooperation between the two countries

At the invitation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, will pay an official visit to the UK from October 28 to 30.

General Secretary To Lam and his wife

PHOTO: VNA

In a press interview before the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed that General Secretary To Lam's official visit to the UK carries a strong and consistent foreign policy message.

In particular, the visit took place on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam - UK Strategic Partnership (2010 - 2025), an important milestone for the two countries to look back on the past cooperation journey, evaluate outstanding achievements, and set out a new vision and development orientation for bilateral relations in the coming period.

The UK is a global power, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and one of the world's leading countries in science and technology, defense and security, finance and innovation.

"These are all fields that are suitable for Vietnam's current development needs and strategic orientation, as the country is striving to promote industrialization, modernization and deep integration into the global economy," Ms. Hang affirmed.

The visit of General Secretary To Lam is expected to create new breakthroughs in cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas with potential and complementary strengths. Thereby, it will contribute to effectively implementing the Politburo's key resolutions in line with Vietnam's vision for sustainable development and long-term strategy, towards a new era of dynamic and creative development.

"With those important purposes and meanings, I strongly believe that the visit will open a new chapter in cooperation between the two countries with long-term and sustainable development cooperation orientations, in accordance with the interests and strengths of each country, for the benefit of the people and all-round development of each country, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in each region and in the world," Ms. Hang emphasized.

Looking forward to launching major cooperation projects

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang also added that General Secretary To Lam's official visit to the UK is not only an important foreign event, but also clearly demonstrates Vietnam's respect for traditional Western European partners in its foreign policy and comprehensive international integration process.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang

PHOTO: BNG

The visit takes place in the context of Vietnam - UK relations developing strongly and achieving many encouraging results.

In terms of economics, trade and investment, the UK is currently Vietnam's third largest trading partner in Europe and Vietnam is the UK's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. The UK has 587 valid projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of about 4.46 billion USD, ranking 15th out of 152 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Vietnam is also one of the first countries to sign a free trade agreement with the UK after Brexit, making good use of this agreement, thereby bringing strong growth in bilateral trade turnover year by year.

In terms of science and technology, the two sides have implemented about 50 joint research projects and a number of other cooperation activities. In terms of environment and climate change, the UK is the coordinator and actively supports Vietnam in implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between Vietnam and the International Partnership Group (IPG).

There are currently more than 12,000 Vietnamese students studying at UK universities and educational institutions. In addition, thousands of Vietnamese experts and intellectuals are also working in the fields of scientific research, technology, finance and innovation in the UK. Cooperation in other areas such as culture, sports and people-to-people exchange has also achieved important results.

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said that this is an important premise to expect that the General Secretary's official visit to the UK in the coming days will bring the bilateral relationship between the two countries to a new, more comprehensive and stronger level; continue to promote the effective implementation of existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements, and upgrade and establish new cooperation mechanisms; expand and deepen traditional areas of cooperation.

At the same time, it opens up new, breakthrough directions that are suitable to the potential and meet the practical needs of each country today in a rapidly changing world situation. "We expect that major cooperation projects will be launched, many exchange activities will be organized, and the people of the two countries will understand and become closer to each other," Ms. Hang shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-tham-anh-dua-quan-he-hai-nuoc-len-tam-cao-moi-185251027164041817.htm