UK Prime Minister wraps up official visit to Vietnam

UK Prime Minister David Cameron left Ho Chi Minh City on July 30, concluding his two-day official visit to Vietnam.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and PM Nguyen Tan Dung (Photo: VNA)

During his stay, the UK leader held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung and met with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang.

He met with Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Le Thanh Hai and Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan and attended the Vietnam-UK Business Forum to meet with Vietnamese and UK investors in the southern Vietnamese economic hub.

During their talks, the two PMs affirmed that economic co-operation continues to be a priority in bilateral relations and lauded progress in negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Union, saying that trade and investment partnership between the two countries will be fostered once the deal is signed.

They stressed that both Vietnam and the UK want to reach a comprehensive FTA to resolve tariff and market access issues.

They also underlined the importance of science and innovation co-operation within the framework of the nations’ strategic partnership and expressed their belief that the effective implementation of the Vietnam-UK Institute for Research and Executive Education will form the basis for success of the establishment of a Vietnam-UK University in central Da Nang city.

The cabinet leaders also highlighted the positive developments in security and defence co-operation and agreed to speed up negotiations on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on anti-human trafficking.

They were unanimous in designing another MoU on defence co-operation to enhance collaboration in the defence industry and personnel training, increase defence and security delegation exchanges and further professional experience sharing.

The PMs also agreed to reinforce climate change prevention affiliation.

Meanwhile, the two sides reiterated the significance of respect and full compliance with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), inked in 2002, and efforts to complete a code of conduct in the waters (COC).

PMs Nguyen Tan Dung and David Cameron praised the development of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The visiting leader said Vietnam’s granting of the 15-day visa exemption to UK citizens will help strengthen exchanges – a crucial factor in their strategic partnership.

The leaders said they believe the outcomes of the visit will contribute to the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the UK.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)