Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Sinh Hung left Belgium for London, starting his official visit to the UK at the invitation of Baroness D'Souza, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Lords.
During his three-day visit, NA Chairman Hung is scheduled to work with Baroness D'Souza; John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, and his first deputy Linsay Hoyle. He will also meet with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Duke of York.
Since Vietnam and the UK established diplomatic ties in 1973, especially after Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit in 2008, bilateral ties in economics, trade, investment, education and training have been continually strengthened.
In September 2010, the two foreign ministries signed a strategic partnership agreement, creating a framework for developing comprehensive bilateral cooperation in such areas as politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, education and training, science and technology, and regional and global issues.
Despite the global economic downturn, the UK’s two-way trade with Vietnam has still increased and ranks second in the EU, after Germany. Vietnam exports footwear, wood products, seafood, agricultural products, plastics and rubber products.
The UK has included the Southeast Asian nation in its list of 17 priority markets around the world. It is now Vietnam’s biggest EU investor with a total value of US$1.4 billion. Many of its leading groups including BP, Shell, BAT, Tate, Prudential, Unilever, ICI, and Castrol have expanded their operations in the country.
In addition, the UK has also provided Vietnam with official development assistance to back the country’s struggle against poverty and climate change, and help it improve educational and training services.
Mr Hung’s visit is aimed at fostering mutual understanding, creating opportunities to boost cooperation between the two legislative bodies and raise Vietnam’s status in the international arena.
