Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and
Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox (Source: VNA)
Deputy PM and FM Minh had a meeting on October 9 with Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, during which the two sides acknowledged the good growth of trade-investment ties between the two countries in recent years.
Two-way trade reached 6 billion USD in 2017, up 11 percent from 2016, while
total UK investment in Vietnam climbed to 3.71 billion USD, putting the UK at
the 15th place among 129 countries and territories investing in the
country.
Deputy PM Minh said he believed Brexit would not create negative impacts on the
trade-investment tires between Vietnam and the UK. He asked the UK to continue
backing Vietnam in enhancing ties with the European Union and advocating the
early signing of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement.
The Vietnamese Deputy PM thanked the UK government for providing development
aid for Vietnam over the past more than 20 years, assisting with Vietnam’s
socio-economic development and international integration. He asked the UK to
continue helping Vietnam access capital from its Prosperity Fund to improve the
business environment and cope with climate change.
The two sides welcomed the acceleration of negotiations on a bilateral free
trade deal in order to further intensify trade-investment ties and cooperation
in the framework of the World Trade Organisation after Brexit, thus
contributing to deepening the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership.
Secretary Fox appreciated Vietnam’s role in the Asia-Pacific, and expressed the
wish to maintain and expand economic-trade relations with Vietnam. He affirmed
that in its Global Britain strategy announced in 2017, the UK gives priority to
enhancing economic cooperation with important partners, including
Vietnam.
Earlier the same day, the Vietnamese Deputy PM and FM had a meeting with
Viscount Astor, who recalled his good impression of the Vietnamese land and
people during his visit to the country in 2013.
Viscount Astor presented the Vietnamese guest with a special issue on Vietnam
published by the First Magazine on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of
Vietnam-UK diplomatic ties.
During the visit, Minh also had a working session with executives of several
big British groups. He took the occasion to announce Vietnam’s resolve and
efforts to build an action-oriented, innovative government of integrity.
He stressed that Vietnam is working to further improve its ranking in the
e-Government index of the United Nations, maintain socio-political stability,
while pushing forwards with economic restructuring, equitisation and divestment
at State-owned enterprises in accordance with market rules and in an open and
transparent manner, which Minh said is creating opportunities for British
investors to become strategic shareholders of big companies in Vietnam./.
Source: VNA
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