Vietnamese Minister of Public Security and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel held talks in London on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Hợp

LONDON — British Home Secretary Priti Patel has praised the UK's growing relationship with Việt Nam.

She was speaking during a meeting with Minister of Public Security, General Tô Lâm on Monday (local time) in London.

Patel said Lâm’s visit to the UK is significant as it contributes to further enhancing the bilateral ties to deal with non-traditional issues, especially cross-border organised crime like economic crime, illegal migration, human trafficking, money laundering and high-tech crime.

The UK will step up cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) across a number of spheres, and supports the grouping’s centrality in maintaining the regional architecture, she pledged.

The UK will also make more contributions to maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of aviation and navigation in the South China Sea in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

Minister Lâm congratulated the UK on becoming ASEAN’s 11th dialogue partner, saying Việt Nam is ready to work as a bridge promoting cooperation between the UK and the bloc, and back the UK to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific (CPTPP).

Việt Nam always regards the UK as a leading priority in its foreign policy, for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, the minister stressed.  

According to Lâm, Việt Nam highly values the UK’s agreements with the EU after Brexit in different fields, the country’s Global Britain strategy, and its announcement of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy by 2025 with a vision towards 2030.

He held that cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the UK Home Office has been deepened in such areas as the sharing of information and data, personnel training and fighting crime.

The minister suggested the two sides promote delegation exchanges, information sharing and collaboration in fighting illegal migration, and called on the UK to help Việt Nam in accessing COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs, and create conditions for Vietnamese citizens to get visas to enter, study and work legally in the UK.

Host and guest noted with pleasure new developments of the Việt Nam-UK relations, especially after the two countries signed the “Joint Declaration on the Việt Nam - UK Strategic Partnership: Forging Ahead for Another 10 Years,” in September 2020, and the UK-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement on December 31, 2020.

At the end of the meeting, Patel said she plans to pay a working visit to Việt Nam in the first quarter of 2022 to discuss plans on bilateral cooperation between the two countries. — VNS