10th Vietnam - UK Strategic Dialogue promotes substantive cooperation

During the dialogue, Vietnamese Deputy FM Hang affirmed that the strategic partnership between the two sides has continued to grow steadily in a variety of areas, ranging from politics - diplomacy, trade - investment, climate change response, to education and people-to-people exchanges.

The Vietnamese side always attaches importance to strengthening the strategic partnership, Deputy FM Hang said, adding that that the two sides need to step up positive co-operation in traditional areas and expand to new ones such as energy, green finance, and strategic infrastructure.

In response, Under-Secretary West noted her appreciation for Vietnamese development achievements and its regional and international role, emphasizing that the nation is an important partner in the UK's overall policy towards the Indo-Pacific region.

It is therefore clear that the UK-Vietnam relationship has reached new heights, as both sides have expanded and deepened areas of collaboration, especially in energy transition. This year, many high-level visits have taken place, thereby creating opportunities for exchanges and discussions to be held between the two countries.

The UK diplomat also expressed delight at the development in trade links between the two nations and looked forward to seeing businesses from both countries truly take full advantage of the potential of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that the UK has joined thanks to the support and promotion of Vietnam.

The UK stands committed to continue to be a dialogue partner making a positive impact on the region, she said, while showing her confidence that moving forward, the two sides will have a lot of potential opportunities for co-operation.

During the dialogue, the two sides agreed to intensify the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially at the high level. This is as well as effectively implementing existing co-operation mechanisms in order to further deepen the Strategic Partnership and promote the potential for bilateral ties.

The two sides approved the Vietnam - UK Action Plan for the 2024 to 2026 period, including co-operation priorities in the following areas of politics - diplomacy; trade, investment, and business environment; sustainable growth and development cooperation; science - technology and innovation; education, vocational training, higher education, science, and education technology; defence, security, and the prevention of serious organized crime; people-to-people exchanges and equal rights; and global and regional issues.

Regarding trade exchange, the two sides will continue to work towards maximizing the benefits of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the CPTPP to increase bilateral trade turnover, while also seeking to ramp up co-operation in realising joint initiatives. This can be seen through commitments on climate change and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), towards green transition and sustainable development goals through the implementation of specific co-operation projects.

In terms of science and technology, both sides will continue to work together in training cadres and human resources, carrying out joint research programmes on health, agriculture, the environment, and emerging technology; as well as developing innovation programmes, startup ecosystems, and digital transformation.

On education and training and people-to-people exchanges, the UK Government will continuously implement and expand educational collaboration schemes with Vietnamese partners, including increasing the provision of scholarships, teacher training, and improving education policy-making capacity.