Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Thị Thu Hằng (R) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Catherine West VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Thị Thu Hằng and UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office covering the Indo Pacific Catherine West co-chaired the 10th Việt Nam-UK Strategic Dialogue in Hà Nội on Thurday.

During the event, both sides expressed their delight at the sound development of the two countries’ strategic partnership in all areas, such as politics - diplomacy, trade-investment, security-defence, education-training, sci-tech, climate change response, culture and people-to-people exchange.

Hằng affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches importance to strengthening the Việt Nam-UK strategic partnership, saying that the two sides need to promote results in traditional cooperation areas and expand their collaboration to new areas that the UK has strength and Việt Nam needs.

She took this occasion to thank the UK government for providing Việt Nam with 1 million GBP (nearly US$1.3 million) to overcome the consequences of Typhoon Yagi last September.

West, spoke highly of Việt Nam's development achievements and its regional and international roles, emphasising the country is an important partner in the UK's overall policy towards the Indo-Pacific region.

The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms such as the strategic dialogue, the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), the defence policy dialogue, the migration dialogue, and inter-parliamentary dialogue mechanisms, in order to further deepen the strategic partnership and promote the potential for cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides agreed to continue coordination to maximise the benefits from the UK-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to raise bilateral trade turnover, encourage British businesses to invest in Việt Nam in areas of strength such as renewable energy, finance - banking, infrastructure, and digital transformation.

West appreciated Việt Nam for being one of the first countries to ratify the UK's accession to the CPTPP, facilitating the acceleration of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in particular and the two regions in general.

She expressed her joy with cooperating and supporting Hồ Chí Minh City to develop into an international financial centre.

The two sides concurred to strengthen cooperation in implementing initiatives that both sides participate in, especially commitments on climate change and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

West affirmed that the UK is ready to accompany Việt Nam in the process of socio-economic development, with the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045, while welcoming Việt Nam's strong commitments at COP 26 on reducing emissions to zero by 2050 and Việt Nam's participation in the Political Declaration on JETP with the G7 Group and international partners.

She emphasised that the UK Government, international partners and businesses will support and cooperate with Việt Nam in implementing JETP, Resources Mobilisation Plan (RMP) towards green transition and sustainable development through implementing specific cooperation projects.

The two sides highly valued the establishment of a framework for cooperation in science and technology between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; and agreed to continue collaboration in personnel training, the implementation of joint research programmes on health, agriculture, environment, emerging technology, the development of innovation programmes, startup ecosystems, and digital transformation.

The UK official said that based on the effectiveness of the Chevening scholarship programme and the activities of the British Council, the UK Government will continue carrying out and expanding educational cooperation programmes with Vietnamese partners in the coming time.

The two sides consented to continue working together in organising cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange activities, thereby promoting the role of the Vietnamese community living, studying and working in the UK as well as contributing to strengthening mutual understanding and enhancing friendship between the two countries.

Regarding security cooperation, based on the results of the phone call on October 10 between Minister of Public Security Lương Tam Quang and Secretary of State for the Home Department Yvette Cooper, the two sides affirmed their desire to closely coordinate in the fight against organised crime, illegal migration and human trafficking, and hold the second migration dialogue in Hanoi as well as strengthen cooperation in training and improving the capacity of law enforcement officials.

On defence cooperation, the two sides spoke highly of the positive developments in the two countries’ collaboration such as the maintenance of the deputy ministerial defence policy dialouge mechanism, friendly visits to Việt Nam by British naval ships, and the UK's help in professional and English language training for Vietnamese soldiers who participate in United Nations peacekeeping missions.

They emphasised the need to increase delegation exchanges, step up cooperation in military medicine, maritime security and safety, hydrography, defence industry, cooperation within the framework of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (PKO), sharing information on strategic research, and training cooperation between military academies and schools of the two countries.

Discussing international and regional cooperation, they concurred to strengthen coordination and mutual support at multilateral and regional forums, such as the United Nations and within the framework of ASEAN-UK cooperation, support ASEAN's central role and stance on ensuring security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, and respect for law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The two sides expressed their concern about the risk of escalating tensions at some hotspots in the world which negatively affect regional security and global stability, while agreeing on the urgent need to protect civilians, end conflicts, and seek long-term sustainable and equitable peaceful solutions on the basis of respecting the legitimate interests of the parties concerned, the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law.

At the dialogue, the two sides adopted the Việt Nam - UK Action Plan for the 2024 – 2026 period, including cooperation priorities in the areas of politics – diplomacy; trade, investment and business environment; sustainable growth, development cooperation; science - technology and innovation; education, vocational training, tertiary education, educational science and technology; defence, security and organised crime combat; people-to-people exchange and equal rights; and global and regional issues. VNS