Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Hoà Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo

LONDON — The upcoming visit to the UK by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Hoà Bình from March 16-20, the first high-level diplomatic activity between Việt Nam and the UK in 2025, is of great significance, aiming to further strengthen the bilateral relations, especially as the two countries are celebrating the 15th founding anniversary of Strategic Partnership (2010-2025), said Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Đỗ Minh Hùng.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s correspondent in London, the ambassador said that that during the visit, Bình will meet with British government and parliamentary leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle.

He will also work with leaders of agencies, including the HM Treasury, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Bank of England, to discuss measures to further tighten the two countries’ multifaceted cooperation, enhance collaboration in trade and investment, and create new momentum for economic cooperation, particularly in finance and banking, as well as building an international financial centre in Việt Nam.

Additionally, Bình will engage in various discussions and meetings with the British business community, including the City of London, TheCityUK, the London Stock Exchange, representatives of major UK economic and financial groups, and visit several notable educational institutions in the country.

Regarding the Việt Nam-UK Strategic Partnership, Hung affirmed that the relationship between the two countries has kept growing strongly and positively in traditional cooperation areas such as politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, and education, while also expanding into new fields such as energy transition, finance and banking, and high technology.

In terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides have regularly maintained exchanges at all levels and effectively implemented bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the strategic dialogue at the deputy foreign minister level, the Việt Nam-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), the defence policy dialogue, and the migration dialogue. They have approved a strategic action plan for the 2024-26 period which includes priorities for cooperation in political-diplomatic relations, trade, investment, sustainable growth, development cooperation, science-technology, and education.

Trade and investment, a crucial pillar of the Strategic Partnership, are witnessing strong development. The UK is currently Việt Nam's third-largest trading partner in Europe, and Việt Nam is the UK's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover increased by 18 per cent year on year, reaching US$8.4 billion, the highest level to date. Both sides aim to raise this figure to $10 billion in the coming years.

In terms of investment, by the end of 2024, the UK had 587 projects in Việt Nam with total registered capital of $4.46 billion, ranking 15th out of 147 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam.

The continued effective implementation of the UK-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the UK's official accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on December 15, 2024, will provide a strong impetus for bilateral economic cooperation and promoting regional economic connectivity.

In education and people-to-people exchanges, over 10,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the UK, and many British universities have opened branches in Việt Nam. The two sides will continue to expand educational cooperation programmes, including strengthening links between educational institutions, providing scholarships, training teachers, and enhancing educational policy planning capacity.

In science and technology, Việt Nam and the UK will continue to cooperate in human resource training, jointly implement research programmes in health, agriculture, environment, emerging technologies, and develop innovation programmes, startup ecosystems, and digital transformation.

Hung is confident that the Deputy PM's visit to the UK will be a success, creating new momentum for cooperation in economy, finance, education, and training, contributing practically to the dynamic and effective development of the Việt Nam-UK Strategic Partnership. — VNS