NA Chairman embarks on UK visit

The Chairman was welcomed by member of the House of Lords Andrey Dups, Secretary of the Britain-Việt Nam Friendship Society (BVFS) Len Aldis, representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, and Vietnamese people working and studying in the country.

During his three-day visit, NA Chairman Hùng is scheduled to work with Baroness D'Souza; Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow. Mr. Hùng and Deputy Prime Minister Nick.

Since Việt Nam and the UK established diplomatic ties in 1973, especially after the official visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng  in 2008, bilateral ties in economics, trade, investment, education and training have been continually strengthened.

In September 2010, the two foreign ministries signed a strategic partnership agreement, creating a framework for developing comprehensive bilateral cooperation in such areas as politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, education and training, science and technology, and regional and global issues.

Despite the global economic downturn, the UK’s two-way trade with Việt Nam has still increased and ranks second in the EU, after Germany. Việt Nam exports footwear, wood products, seafood, agricultural products, plastics and rubber products.

The UK has included the Southeast Asian nation in its list of 17 priority markets around the world. It is now Vietnam’s biggest EU investor with a total value of US$1.4 billion. Many of its leading groups including BP, Shell, BAT, Tate, Prudential, Unilever, ICI, and Castrol have expanded their operations in the country.

In addition, the UK has also provided Việt Nam with official development assistance to back the country’s struggle against poverty and climate change, and help it improve educational and training services.

Via a the visit, NA Chairman Hùng hopes to strengthen mutual understanding, create opportunities to boost cooperation between the two legislative bodies and raise Việt Nam’s status at the international arena./.

By Kim Anh