Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission Trần Tuấn Anh (fifth from right) takes a photo with UK officials on the sidelines of their meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

LONDON — A Party delegation, headed by Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission Trần Tuấn Anh, paid a visit to the UK from August 10 – 15, aiming to fortify the countries’ strategic partnership, particularly in economy, trade, and investment.

During the trip, the delegation met many UK officials, namely Graham Stuart, Minister of State (Minister for Europe) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Nigel Evans; Minister of State in the Cabinet Office Nigel Adams; Economic Secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller; and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain Robert Griffiths.

Vietnamese officials also had working sessions with a series of UK agencies and organisations in the fields of energy, investment, finance, services, and digital transformation. They included the British International Investment (BII), Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the industry-led body representing UK-based financial and related professional services TheCityUK, the UK Export Finance, BP Group, and Enterprise Energy.

At these meetings, leaders of the UK government and parliament commended Việt Nam’s role and position in the region and the world, considering the nation a top partner of the UK in the region.

They said they were delighted at the growing bilateral strategic partnership, particularly after the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took effect, and thanked Việt Nam for its support for the UK in becoming a full dialogue partner of ASEAN and in accelerating its negotiations for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Lauding Việt Nam’s commitments announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the UK side took into account the country’s efforts and results in increasing the proportion of renewable energy in contribution to the international community’s concerted efforts in combating climate change.

The British leaders and partners emphasised similarities in the two countries' priority development goals towards green growth, implementation of sustainable development goals, digital transformation, and human-centred energy conversion. They expressed their willingness to promote cooperation and exchange with Việt Nam.

Representatives of the British business community expressed their belief that the visit would help them implement future market surveys for investment cooperation activities in Việt Nam in renewable energy, especially offshore wind power.

The Vietnamese delegation said this was a very favourable time to bring the bilateral strategic partnership to a new height and suggested the two sides continue to accelerate the implementation of measures to further promote cooperation bilaterally and on common global issues.

While in the UK, Vietnamese officials also visited the monument of late President Hồ Chí Minh and the Vietnamese Embassy in London, with Anh chairing a seminar on strengthening the Việt Nam-UK economic and trade cooperation in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution, digital transformation and green transition. — VNS