Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, and his UK counterpart, David Cameron, agreed to step up trade, among other fields, and witnessed the signing of many cooperation deals as they met in Hanoi on Wednesday. They reached the agreement during a talk held after the UK government leader arrived in Vietnam’s capital the same day for a two-day visit at the invitation of PM Dung.  The host told his guest that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening its friendly and cooperative relations with the UK. He also expressed his belief that PM Cameron’s visit will help take bilateral ties to a new height. Speaking to the media after their talks, PM Dung said the two sides highly appreciated the fruitful outcomes of cooperation in various fields including politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, education and training in recent years. The UK is one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners in Europe and the world, PM Dung said. The two countries will continue to deploy consultation mechanisms in politics and diplomacy, and promote collaboration on economic affairs, education, training, security, defense and exchange of visits at all levels. “We affirmed that economic cooperation would continue to be a priority in the relations between the two countries and agreed to provide possible support for their businesses and investors to form their partnerships, and improve their investment efficiency in such fields of priority as infrastructure, finance, banking, insurance, and oil and gas exploration and exploitation,” PM Dung said. Meanwhile, PM Cameron said his current visit is his second to Vietnam since 1994, when he arrived in the country for the first time as a tourist. During the ongoing visit, the British premier has witnessed the very impressive development achieved by Vietnam over the past 20 years, he told the media. Within the next 10 years, Vietnam will become one of the ten most developed economies in the region, he said. Negotiations on the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement have attained breakthrough progress, based on which Britain would provide £500 million (US$780 million) in credit finance for Vietnam's infrastructure development, PM Cameron said. He added that following the credit grant, British businesses and architects would visit Vietnam to seek business opportunities. Bilateral trade has doubled in the past three years, but there is potential for further increases, as the UK’s trade with Vietnam currently accounts for a mere 1.5 percent of Britain’s global trade, PM Cameron said. He added that he and PM Dung have agreed to step up cooperation in trade. After their talks, the two premiers witnessed the signing of many cooperation deals, including a £340 million ($530.4 million) agreement between Rolls-Royce and Vietnam Airlines Corporation. The two sides also issued a joint statement in which both prime ministers welcomed the investment of £100 million ($156 million) by Prudential Vietnam in the Ministry of Finance’s first issue of 20-year government bonds. They also welcomed the acceptance by Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province of ZincOx’s proposal to invest £75 million ($117 million) in recycling hazardous waste and reducing carbon emissions from the steel industry in Vietnam. The two prime ministers also talked over regional and international issues of mutual interest and reiterated their commitment to maintaining a rules-based order in the maritime domain based on the principles of international law, in particular as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the joint statement said. The host and guest underscored the importance of peaceful dispute settlement, as well as free and unimpeded lawful use of the world’s oceans, and reaffirmed the significance of respecting and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea signed in 2002 and the early conclusion of the regional Code of Conduct for the sea, according to the joint statement.

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