Deputy PM, FM Pham Gia Khiem and the United Kingdom’s (UK) FM William Hague on Wednesday in London signed a joint statement to lift up the bilateral ties between Vietnam and the UK to a strategic partnership.
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Vietnamese Deputy PM, FM Pham Gia Khiem (R) and the UK’s FM William Hague, London, September 8, 2010
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The strategic partnership will be drivenwith seven keys, namely politics-diplomacy, regional and international coordination, trade-investment, development cooperation, socio-economic relations, education and training, national security and defense, and people-to-people exchanges.
Accordingly, the two sides agreed to expand exchange of delegations at all levels and establish Deputy FM-level strategic dialogue mechanism.
The two countries will coordinate closely on multi-lateral forums, especially the UN, ASEM, ASEAN-EU, and WTO, in order to exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern, including the fight against global climate change, environment protection, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
The UK welcomed Vietnam to speed up investment and export to the European country’s market. In response, Vietnam will create favorable conditions for the UK to consolidate its position of top financial investor in the Southeast Asian country.
The European country also committed to advocating Vietnam to bolster economic and trade linkages with the European Union (EU), and lobby the EU to recognize Vietnam’s market economy.
The two sides target to increase the two way trade value to US $4 billion and the UK’s FDI into Vietnam to US $3 billion by 2013.
The UK’s future ODA will focus on poverty reduction and the realization of the MDGs, especially primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention and control, and the fight against climate change.
The two sides noted quick and effective developments of education cooperation. The UK pledged to support Vietnam to build an international-standard joint university in the central city of Da Nang and provide Vietnam with more scholarships.
The UK also appraised the role made by the Vietnamese community there, which contributes to consolidate the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two sides.