London (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has paidan official visit to the UK from April 24-26, during which he discussed a wide range of issues on bilateral cooperation with UK officials and business leaders.

During the visit, the Deputy PM had meetings with the Duke of York PrinceAndrew, Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Alok Sharma, and ChiefSecretary to the Treasury David Gauke.

He also hosted receptions for top executives of leading British firms inthe fields of finance, education and real estate, and the UK-Vietnam Network.

During the meetings, Deputy PM Dung affirmed that Vietnam treasures thestrategic partnership with the UK, with stress on cooperation ontrade-investment, culture-education, and security-national defence.

He proposed that the royal family and Government of the UK increase the exchangeof delegations, particularly those at high level, with Vietnam. He said the twosides should effectively make use of the mechanism of diplomatic-political strategicdialogue. He also asked the UK to support Vietnam’s candidate for the positionof Director General of the UNESCO in 2020-2021 tenure.

In the economic-trade-investment fields, Deputy PM Dung laid emphasis onthe importance of economic cooperation as one of the pillars of the Vietnam-UKstrategic partnership. He underlined that the Vietnamese Government iscommitted to continuing to create favourable conditions for foreign businesses,including those from the UK, to make investment, transfer technology and engagein long-term business in Vietnam, especially in fields of the UK strength suchas finance-banking, insurance, energy, oil and gas, hi-technology and theenvironment.

He suggested that the UK Government encourage and support UK businessesto do business with Vietnam by such means as providing preferential loans or sendingtrade-investment promotion delegations to Vietnam. He also asked for the UK’shelp for Vietnam in improving business environment, responding to climatechange and developing infrastructure.

Deputy PM Dung noted that the two countries have achieved positiveoutcomes in financial cooperation but they remained modest compared to potential.He proposed that the UK share experience and help Vietnam in improving thenational financial governance and developing the financial market and services.He also called for strengthening the affiliation between the customs agenciesof both countries in fighting tobacco smuggling and violations of intellectualproperty.

The Vietnamese Deputy PM also asked the UK to help Vietnam with traininghigh-quality workforce, provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students, andassist the Southeast Asian country in participating in the United Nationspeacekeeping activities.

The Duke of York and other UK officials appreciated the dynamic andeffective development of bilateral ties, and reiterated that the UK Governmentcontinues to give priority to promoting the UK-Vietnam strategic partnershipacross the fields.

The UK officials agreed to continue deploying the mechanism of diplomatic-politicalstrategic dialogue while maintaining effective cooperation in multilateralmechanisms. Regarding the East Sea situation, they affirmed that the UKGovernment advocates the respect for international law, maintenance ofnavigation and overflight security, and self restraint to prevent tension fromescalating and to ensure the interests of concerned parties.

The UK side spoke highly of improvements in Vietnam’s business-investmentenvironment, expressing their belief that after elections, the new UK Governmentwill continue to pay attention to promoting economic-trade-investment ties withVietnam.

The Duke of York said he would assist Vietnam in building models for businessconnectivity and startup, thus helping Vietnamese small- and medium-sizedenterprises develop and reap success on the global scale.

UK business leaders said they believe Vietnam will continue to be an attractivedestination for UK investors, and expressed their intention to invest inVietnam in such fields as financial services, green finance, informationtechnology, construction and real estate.

The UK side affirmed the willingness to push forward collaboration and experiencesharing regarding financial infrastructure management, green finance, preventionand fight of smuggling and violations of cross-border customs rules, and Public-PrivatePartnership.

The Duke of York and other UK officials also promised to work on DeputyPM Dung’s proposals, including stepping up cultural and tourism promotionactivities at a time when the two countries will mark 45 years of theirdiplomatic ties in 2018.

The Vietnam-UK Network executive committee told Deputy PM Dung that theorganisation will continue to work to connect businesses, hold exchanges and populariseVietnam’s image, thus helping promote cooperation between the countries acrossthe fields of economics, trade, investment, culture and education.

Besides the meetings, Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung attended the Duke ofYork’s Pitch@Palace event, visited the Vietnamese Embassy in London and paidfloral tribute to the late President Ho Chi Minh at the New Zealand House at No80, Haymarket, where the late President worked in 1913.-VNA