On March 17 in London, as part of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh’s visit to the UK, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang met with Catherine West, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed her pleasure at meeting the UK official again and thanked the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for its support in organizing the Deputy PM’s visit. She voiced confidence that the trip will further deepen the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership and bolster economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two nations.

Catherine West applauded Vietnam’s impressive economic progress, noting that the UK business community sees great potential for expanding cooperation. She also expressed her desire to visit Vietnam in the near future.

Regarding Vietnam’s plan to establish an international financial center, Deputy FM Hang shared that the delegation hoped to gain valuable insights from the UK’s expertise and attract British businesses to contribute to the center’s development, operation, and growth in the time ahead.

In response, Catherine West called Vietnam’s initiative a strategic step and affirmed the UK’s readiness to facilitate connections with British enterprises in the financial sector.

On climate action, Hang highly valued the UK’s role as the coordinator in establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between Vietnam, the G7, and international partners.

She called on the UK to continue pushing for G7 members, international financial institutions, and private investors to support Vietnam’s Resource Mobilization Plan (RMP), adopted at COP28. She also underlined the importance of UK assistance in policy development, human resource training, financial access, and technological advancements for Vietnam’s green transition and sustainable development.

During the meeting, Catherine West also inquired about Vietnam’s policies on investment environment improvements, green energy development, and renewable energy.

The two sides compared notes on international and regional issues of shared concern, including the East Sea (South China Sea) issue.

Deputy PM’s UK visit expected to provide new impetus for strategic partnership

The upcoming visit to the UK by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh from March 16-20 is of great significance, aiming to further strengthen bilateral relations, especially as the two countries are celebrating the 15th founding anniversary of Strategic Partnership (2010-2025), said Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Do Minh Hung.