Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with the visiting British FirstSecretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth andDevelopment Affairs,ཧ Dominic Raab, in Hanoi on June 22.

Son welcomedRaab once again paying an official visit to Vietnam and directly attending theAsia - Europe Meeting (ASEM) High-level Dialogue in Hanoi, voicing his beliefthat the trip will provide a new driving force forrelations between the two countries. In reply, Raab affirmed the wish to intensify the strategic partnership andclose coordination with Vietnam as the UK is orienting its policy towards theIndo-Pacific region. The two ministers expressed theirdelight at the positive strides in bilateral cooperation, especially since 2020, whenthe countries issued the “Joint Declaration on the Vietnam - UK StrategicPartnership: Forging Ahead for Another 10 Years”, and signed and enforced the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). They agreed to soon resumethe exchange of delegations and key cooperation mechanisms such as the security - defence strategy dialogue and the joint economic and tradecommittee (JETCO). Both host and guest alsospoke highly of the thriving economic links despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, with bilateral trade hitting 5.6 billion USD in 2020 and the UK’sdirect investment in Vietnam reaching 3.92 billion USD at present. They emphasised the need to capitaliseon great opportunities offered by the UKVFTA so as to give a strongerboost to bilateral trade and investment, especially in potential areas like thedigital economy, financial services, and renewable energy development, therebycontributing to post-pandemic recovery. The two sides discusseddirections to further bolster bilateral cooperation in the spheres of security- defence, health, development cooperation, education - training, science andtechnology, as well as expand cooperation between the two foreign ministries. Son suggested the UK side, in the spirit of the strategic partnership,continue to support Vietnam in accessing COVID-19 vaccine supplies andconsider transfering vaccine productiontechnology to Vietnam. They spoke highly of the Vietnam - UK cooperation at multilateral forums,especially their coordination at the UN Security Council (UNSC) during2020-2021, when Vietnam serves as a non-permanent member ofthe UNSC, and within the ASEM framework. The Vietnamese minister affirmed that he would work closely with theUK side to ensure the success of the 26th UNClimate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) hosted by the UK inNovember this year. For his part, Raab thanked Vietnam forsupporting the UK in its efforts to secure ASEAN Dialogue Partner status,as well as in negotiations to join the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Thetwo sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, emphasising the importance of ensuring the freedom of navigation and overflight, security andpeace in the East Sea, and upholding international law, withthe 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) - the UN “charter of the oceans”considered the legal framework for all activities at sea and ocean. Following the talks, the two ministers met with Vietnamese diplomats whoreceived the UK's Chevening Scholarships in 2020 - 2021. Son thanked the British Government for providing scholarships for and helping Vietnam train high-quality humanresources, including diplomats, over the past three decades./.