The ambassador made the affirmation in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) ahead of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong’s trip to the UK to attend the coronation of King Charles III at the invitation of the Royal Family of the UK from May 4-6.
Following is the full text of the interview.
Reporter: How importance is President Vo Van Thuong’s attendance at King Charles's coronation in the context of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties this year?
Ambassador Iain Frew: For the UK, this is actually a very big moment. We haven't done this for 70 years. So I think it's a really significant moment for our country, as it is a national moment and a constitutional moment. So given that, it's really significant that President Thuong is going to come to the UK, alongside other world leaders, to mark this very significant occasion.
And I think in the context of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral relations, this is really a strong signal of how we can work together to deepen that relationship, and also of the potential for us to develop different areas. I think this is a relatively early visit for the President in his term after his visit to Laos, and that's a particular honour for us.
During the visit, we will see the potential for us to mark in the framework of the 50th anniversary, the areas and directions that we want to do more together on, whether it is on trade, climate, energy, defence and security.
Reporter: The Vietnam-UK strategic partnership is developing fruitfully, especially in education, trade and sustainable development. What can we expect from the trip to the UK by President Vo Van Thuong in promoting the bilateral cooperation?
Ambassador Iain Frew: As part of the President's visit, and the coronation programme, he will have opportunities to meet UK leaders and senior ministers. I'm sure that they will have opportunities to cover some of these priority areas, and to discuss the ambition that we have in the areas you've mentioned, education, sustainability, and trade. We've identified these because these are areas where we think there's huge potential to do more, even though we've achieved a lot together so far in the relationship. And also as part of the President's programme, he's going to have the opportunity to meet and talk to business leaders, NGOs, and others who connect the UK and Vietnam together to explore some of that potential.
It's clear from my own discussion with the President, but also with other senior leaders here at Vietnam, that the potential for us to develop education in particular is very high. UK universities and other higher education institutions offer a huge amount and we're delighted that so many Vietnamese students are studying and want to study in the UK. I think we could do more to build those partnerships, and also to ensure that the partnerships then strengthen and support the education system and development here in Vietnam.
Reporter: How do you evaluate prospects of the bilateral relations in the time ahead?
Ambassador Iain Frew: This is a very dynamic moment in the UK-Vietnam relationship. We have had some real achievements over recent years within the strategic partnership in areas such as the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. But I think if we look across the other areas of the relationship, there is a lot of potential to do more.
I start with trade. We've recently concluded the negotiations for the UK to join the CPTPP agreement. Vietnam has been a great supporter of that. We have seen over the past year that bilateral trade between the UK and Vietnam has increased by 20% to 6.4 billion GBP. That's excellent, but I think we can do better still. I think we can support our companies to invest more, to trade more. And I know that UK investors see Vietnam as a as a high growth and high potential market. This is a country that's very open to investments, creating a stable environment for that. And that, in turn, will support Vietnam's own economic growth. So I think there's a huge potential in trade and investment between our countries.
And then on the question of environment and climate. I think we are already doing a huge amount to help meet the high ambition of both countries. The Vietnamese government and leadership set a very ambitious pathway to net zero by 2050 at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in the UK. We have recognised that the ambition needs to be matched partnership from the international community and in particular from the G7 Plus Norway and Denmark who have joined in this just energy transition partnership. This is the leading effort and the UK is co-leading this here in Vietnam, both with a declaration that has matched 15.5 billion USD with an ambition for reform and creating a framework for renewable energy investment in Vietnam. So that's commitment from international partners, but also commitment from the Vietnamese government to really create the environment to bring investment, the development of renewable sector here and the energy grid in Vietnam.
And the potential here is huge. Green economy and green jobs of the future can be created here. Investors are looking for opportunities where they can access renewable energy. Consumers are looking for products that have excellent green credentials. I think the Vietnamese government recognises the huge potential of this. So the UK is here supporting that. And I think that's another area that will continue to develop very strongly.
The final area I would mention is our defence and security relationship. And I think we recognise that the UK and Vietnam, in many ways, see the world similarly. We are very attached to the international rules- based order, to international law and important principles such as sovereignty and territorial integrity, which leads us to take similar positions on some international issues, and particularly the importance of regional and international stability and security. Within this region, the UK has been very supportive of a free and open Indo Pacific, that includes the East Sea being managed in a stable way that respects countries' interests, including Vietnam. The UK is very supportive of international law and Vietnam's position within that in this regard.
But I think more broadly, Vietnam and Vietnamese government are looking to modernise and diversify its military and defense sphere. The UK has a lot of potential which we are beginning to see realised. That is on military training, where we're cooperating in areas like peacekeeping, also, in developing defence industry. I think for the future, we will see more military exchanges, including for example, ship visits. I was delighted to welcome a Royal Navy ship to Ho Chi Minh City in February this year and we're going to see more effective future.
Reporter: Thank you so much for your interview.
