Negotiations on Vietnam-UK FTA expected to be completed late this year
Vietnam and the United Kingdom are speeding up negotiations on a new-generation free trade agreement between the two sides, which is expected to be completed at the end of this year.
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and the United Kingdom arespeeding up negotiations on a new-generation free trade agreement between the two sides, which is expected to be completed at the end of this year.
The information was released at a webinar themed “Vietnam’sTrade and Economic Future: Opportunities for British and VietnameseBusinesses”, which was jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’sEuropean-American Market Department, the UK-ASEAN Business Council, theVietnamese Embassy in the UK and the UK Embassy in Vietnam on October 6.
British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward highlighted theimportance of the FTA to help boost trade between Vietnam and the UK.
He expressed his hope that the two sides will gain successin negotiations this year, especially in the context of the UK having left theEuropean Union on January 31.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and TradeHoang Quoc Vuong said that in recent years, the business and investmentenvironment in Vietnam has improved in a more transparent and convenientmanner.
The country’s Government is determined to step upadministrative reform to meet requirements of the market economy and create a reliableand attractive investment climate for enterprises.
Of note, amidst the movement of FDI flows, Vietnam’smaintenance of positive growth in disbursed capital is an encouraging result,affirming its attractiveness as an investment destination, Vuong stated.
Regarding bilateral relations, he stressed that the UK is animportant market and always a prioritized cooperation partner of Vietnam.
The UK is a potential market for Vietnam’s tropical farmproduce, garment and textiles, footwear, wood products and mobile phones, whileVietnam is a gateway market for UK businesses to approach the wider regionalmarket, he added.
Since the two countries signed a strategic partnershipagreement in 2010, their two-way trade had increased by 3.5 times to hit 6.61billion USD in 2019.
As of August 2020, the UK had 400 valid investment projectsin Vietnam with combined registered capital of 2.6 billion USD, ranking 16th out of 137 nations and territories pouring capital into the Southeast Asiancountry./.
Trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the UK are to benefit from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), according to Trade Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong.
As many as 50 UK businesses joined an online meeting to get updates on socio-economic situation in Vietnam as well as developments in the Vietnam-UK relations, and seek opportunities to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in the future.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab in Hanoi on September 30, during which they agreed on joint efforts towards a higher level of the bilateral strategic partnership.
Vietnam and the UK issued a “Joint Declaration on the Vietnam - UK Strategic Partnership: Forging Ahead for Another 10 Years” after the talks in Hanoi on September 30 between Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and UK First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Rabb. Following is the full text of the joint declaration.
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Delegates attend the webinar (Source: VNA) 
