Signatories to the document were the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Peter Mandelson, and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, who visited the UK on March 9-11.

Under the joint statement, Da Nang University will be upgraded to become the first Vietnam-UK Public University, meeting international standards.

The two senior officials spoke highly of effective cooperation in education between Vietnam and the UK and said both sides still have great potential for increasing bilateral ties in this field.

Secretary Mandelson confirmed that his government will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese students to come and study in the country. He voiced the UK’s support for Vietnam in developing international tertiary education, and welcomed Vietnam’s initiative to host an international conference on tertiary education held last October.

During talks, both sides stressed the need to boost bilateral cooperation in economics, trade and investment, and agreed to support their businesses in establishing long-term partnerships. They pointed to the fact that the UK is one of Vietnam’s 17 priority markets for development cooperation.

Mr Nhan said Vietnam will continue to accelerate economic reform and meet its commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The Vietnamese government offers incentives to UK businesses to operate efficiently in Vietnam, especially in oil&gas, finance, banking, telecommunications and manufacturing of airplane spare parts, said Mr Nhan.

He proposed that the UK help Vietnamese goods penetrate its market and larger European Union market.

Secretary Mendelson said the UK supports Vietnam in increasing comprehensive cooperation with the European Union, and will encourage the EU to recognise Vietnam as a market economy as soon as possible.

The two officials emphasised the important role of the public-private partnership (PPP) model in mobilising financial sources for infrastructure construction and agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in developing the model in Vietnam.

The UK has succeeded in carrying out this model and is willing to share its experiences with Vietnam, said the British Secretary, adding that the UK will work with other counterparts including the World Bank to develop policies and PPP models appropriate for Vietnam.

Secretary Mendelson added that the UK will consider training courses on PPP for Vietnamese officials and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment will provide technical assistance for PPP capacity building projects in Vietnam. 

Mr Nhan and Mr Mendelson agreed to develop a pilot PPP project under strict scrutiny from both sides to draw up future cooperation programmes.

In a meeting with Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband, Mr Nhan spoke of difficulties Vietnam is facing as a consequence of climate change and briefed his host on the country’s target programme to address it.

He thanked the UK for providing practical assistance to Vietnam in environmental protection and in coping with climate change, and proposed that the UK continue supporting Vietnam in implementing its target programme.

Deputy PM Nhan also met with DFID Minister Mike Foster and leaders of the UK-Vietnam parliamentarian group.

Currently, the UK is the largest EU donor of non-refundable aid to Vietnam, committing 50 million pounds/year in the 2006-2010 period. It is also the first EU member to sign an agreement to provide Vietnam with ODA through 2015.

Mr Nhan affirmed that UK ODA has been used effectively in Vietnam, especially in poverty reduction, health care, education and administrative reform, helping the country meet many of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. He proposed that the UK increase cooperation in education and training and prioritise ODA for Vietnam from now until 2015.

During his stay, Mr Nhan visited a house in London where late President Ho Chi Minh used to live and work in the early 20^th century.

He met with CEOs Michael Gerrard and Edward Farquharson of Partnerships UK, CEO Martin Davidson of the British Council, and leaders of major economic groups, including Rolls Royce. He also visited the Vietnamese Embassy and met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the UK.