The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the working trip of General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, was at the invitation of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) Keir Starmer.
Vietnam and the UK established diplomatic relations on September 11, 1973. The two countries signed a Joint Statement on establishing a Strategic Partnership in September 2010.
The two sides issued a new Joint Statement on Strategic Partnership on September 30, 2020 with seven priority areas of cooperation and affirmed that the two sides aim to elevate the relationship to a higher level in the next 10 years.
General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly (Photo: VNA).
Regarding economic and trade cooperation, the two countries signed the Vietnam - UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which officially took effect on December 31, 2020.
Bilateral trade turnover in 2024 will reach 8.424 billion USD, up 18% compared to 2023. Of which, Vietnam will export 7.543 billion USD, up 18.9% compared to 2023; imports will reach 881.050 million USD, up 10.8%.
Trade turnover in the first 8 months of 2025 reached 6.1 billion USD (up 9.3% over the same period in 2024). Vietnam-UK trade reached its highest level ever.
Regarding investment, by the end of August, the UK had nearly 606 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of about 4.65 billion USD, ranking 15th out of 152 countries and territories with investment projects in Vietnam. Investment capital is focused on processing industry (1.77 billion USD), real estate business (1.1 billion USD), and mining (701 million USD).
Vietnam has 16 projects with a total registered capital of more than 37.6 million USD in the fields of financial investment, wholesale and retail, auto and motorbike repair, accommodation and food services.
The UK is one of Vietnam’s leading donors (£50 million/year for the period 2006-2010). In 2016, the UK ended bilateral aid to Vietnam and closed the UK Department for International Development (DFID) office in Vietnam.
Currently, the UK promotes cooperation activities with Vietnam through cooperation funds in the UK ASEAN region such as the Prosperity Fund, the Newton Fund and several other funds...
Regarding education and training cooperation, the UK focuses on developing cooperation with Vietnam in these fields with the presence of the British Council in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City; actively promoting the participation of leading UK schools in training links and cooperation in developing higher education institutions in Vietnam.
Regarding cooperation in responding to climate change and energy transition, the UK is one of the partners with the most regular and active cooperation activities with Vietnam in the fields of environment, climate change and implementing the results at the COP26 Conference.
At the March 2022 meeting in Germany, G7 Ministers decided to adopt the UK's proposal to support a G7-Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
There are currently about 110,000 Vietnamese people in the UK, including 12,000 students, postgraduates. The Vietnamese community in the UK generally lives in harmony and stability, 90% of them live in large cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester...
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-va-phu-nhan-sap-tham-anh-20251026180434537.htm
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