The establishment of a strategic partnership is an event of extremeimportance in the relationship between Vietnam and Great Britain ,creating a new driving force to lift the bilateral ties to a newheight.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem delivered theremark in an interview with the London-based Vietnam News Agencycorrespondent on Sept. 9.
Deputy PM and FM Khiem and UK ForeignSecretary William Hague signed a joint declaration on the establishmentof the two countries’ strategic partnership in London on Sept. 8during the former’s visit to the UK .
Vietnam and theUK have made great strides in their ties recently, Khiem said, citingthe two-way trade value of over 2 billion USD in 2009, and the UK ’spumping of nearly 2.5 billion USD in FDI into 131 projects in Vietnam.
He noted that the UK was the number one investor in finance,banking and insurance in Vietnam and its provision of annualnon-refundable aid of roughly 100 million USD was the highest in theEuropean Union.
The UK was the first country in the EU to pledge to continue supplying Vietnam with ODA till 2015, Khiem noted.
He also cited the fact that 7,000 Vietnamese students are studying and conducting research in the UK .
DeputyPM and FM Khiem said that the two countries have coordinated closely atvarious regional and international forums and supported each other inenhancing their ties with the EU and ASEAN.
However, he stressedthat the level as well as outcomes of the bilateral ties have not yetbeen commensurate to each country’s potential and desire.
Therefore,both countries decided to elevate their ties to strategic partnershipto demonstrate their strong determination to increase the exploitationof their untapped cooperation potential, Khiem said.
“The signingof the joint declaration to establish Vietnam-UK strategic partnershipis a great event, marking a turning point in elevating their cooperationto a new height both bilaterally and multilaterally, and laying a firmfoundation for future wide-ranging, stable and long-term cooperation,”he noted.
Khiem said both sides have agreed to soon activate thejoint declaration and materialise the strategic partnership withspecific and practical results in the domains of economy, trade,investment, education, training, science and technology.
“Theestablishment of a strategic partnership with the UK is a vividmanifestation of the Vietnamese Party and State’s correct foreign policyof multilateralisation and diversification of international ties,” theDeputy PM said.
Vietnam ’s position continues to be heightenedas the country has become a reliable and responsible partner to allcountries in the international community, contributing actively topeace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world, Khiemsaid.
He pinpointed seven prioritised areas of strategiccooperation, including politics-diplomacy, regional and global issues,trade-investment, security-defence, and people-to-people exchange.
Hetold the VNA correspondent that relevant ministries and agencies of thetwo countries would coordinate in formulating specific action plans foreach area as well as inspection mechanisms to step up theimplementation.
The two countries are resolved to achieve a tradevalue of 4 billion USD and raise the UK ’s FDI in Vietnam to 3billion USD by or prior to 2013, Khiem said.
In education, the two sides will work to put the Vietnam-UK university in the central city of Da Nang into operation soon.
Fordevelopment cooperation, apart from traditional fields such as povertyreduction, healthcare and education, the UK will prioritise its ODAfor Vietnam ’s response to climate change and scientific research,Khiem said.
He noted that both sides will deploy a strategicdialogue mechanism to work out measures to enhance political andsecurity cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to contributeto promoting peace, stability and development in each region and theworld at large./.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem delivered theremark in an interview with the London-based Vietnam News Agencycorrespondent on Sept. 9.
Deputy PM and FM Khiem and UK ForeignSecretary William Hague signed a joint declaration on the establishmentof the two countries’ strategic partnership in London on Sept. 8during the former’s visit to the UK .
Vietnam and theUK have made great strides in their ties recently, Khiem said, citingthe two-way trade value of over 2 billion USD in 2009, and the UK ’spumping of nearly 2.5 billion USD in FDI into 131 projects in Vietnam.
He noted that the UK was the number one investor in finance,banking and insurance in Vietnam and its provision of annualnon-refundable aid of roughly 100 million USD was the highest in theEuropean Union.
The UK was the first country in the EU to pledge to continue supplying Vietnam with ODA till 2015, Khiem noted.
He also cited the fact that 7,000 Vietnamese students are studying and conducting research in the UK .
DeputyPM and FM Khiem said that the two countries have coordinated closely atvarious regional and international forums and supported each other inenhancing their ties with the EU and ASEAN.
However, he stressedthat the level as well as outcomes of the bilateral ties have not yetbeen commensurate to each country’s potential and desire.
Therefore,both countries decided to elevate their ties to strategic partnershipto demonstrate their strong determination to increase the exploitationof their untapped cooperation potential, Khiem said.
“The signingof the joint declaration to establish Vietnam-UK strategic partnershipis a great event, marking a turning point in elevating their cooperationto a new height both bilaterally and multilaterally, and laying a firmfoundation for future wide-ranging, stable and long-term cooperation,”he noted.
Khiem said both sides have agreed to soon activate thejoint declaration and materialise the strategic partnership withspecific and practical results in the domains of economy, trade,investment, education, training, science and technology.
“Theestablishment of a strategic partnership with the UK is a vividmanifestation of the Vietnamese Party and State’s correct foreign policyof multilateralisation and diversification of international ties,” theDeputy PM said.
Vietnam ’s position continues to be heightenedas the country has become a reliable and responsible partner to allcountries in the international community, contributing actively topeace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world, Khiemsaid.
He pinpointed seven prioritised areas of strategiccooperation, including politics-diplomacy, regional and global issues,trade-investment, security-defence, and people-to-people exchange.
Hetold the VNA correspondent that relevant ministries and agencies of thetwo countries would coordinate in formulating specific action plans foreach area as well as inspection mechanisms to step up theimplementation.
The two countries are resolved to achieve a tradevalue of 4 billion USD and raise the UK ’s FDI in Vietnam to 3billion USD by or prior to 2013, Khiem said.
In education, the two sides will work to put the Vietnam-UK university in the central city of Da Nang into operation soon.
Fordevelopment cooperation, apart from traditional fields such as povertyreduction, healthcare and education, the UK will prioritise its ODAfor Vietnam ’s response to climate change and scientific research,Khiem said.
He noted that both sides will deploy a strategicdialogue mechanism to work out measures to enhance political andsecurity cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to contributeto promoting peace, stability and development in each region and theworld at large./.
