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Pano feedThe visits by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh to the UK and Sweden, which ended Friday, have considerably strengthened Vietnam’s bilateral ties and cooperation with the European countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said the same day.
Deputy PM Ninh’s Sweden visit created an impetus to the bilateral ties in all fields, Ngoc said, adding that the Vietnamese and Swedish sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy, telecommunication, high technology, and human resource training.
Sweden had provided Vietnam with US$45 billion in aid since 1969. Although ceasing bilateral ODA provision in 2013, Sweden expects to continue supporting Vietnam via international financial organizations as well as multilateral channels.
Last year, the two-way trade between Sweden and Vietnam amounted over US$1 billion, Ngoc said, adding that Deputy PM Ninh has asked Sweden to recognize Vietnam’s market economy in an early date.
In the talks with Ninh, the Swedish side voiced its strong support for Vietnam’s stance of peacefully solving disputes in the East Sea based on international law, Ngoc said.
During his visit to the UK, Deputy PM Ninh met with Minister without Portfolio and Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party Grant Sharpps and representatives of UK large investors on Wednesday, Ngoc said.
The leaders highly valued the sound development of the comprehensive strategic partnership that was established in 2010 between the two countries.
Ngoc cited the success of many UK enterprises in Vietnam, such as Standard Chartered, Prudential and Rolls Royce, as the manifestation of productive economic-trade ties between the two countries.
The host confirmed that the UK will support Vietnam in the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation process.
Two-way trade in 2013 reached more than $4.2 billion, including Vietnam’s exports of over $3 billion.
The UK side proposed that the two countries build a financial center in Ho Chi Minh City soon, with the assistance of Canary Wharf Group, Ngoc said.
Bost host and guest agreed to open the Vietnam-UK Researchand Training Institute and build the Vietnam-UK University, Ngoc added.
During his stay in the UK, Deputy PM Ninh also had a meeting with representatives of ten investment funds, during which UK financial investors shared experience on developing the bond market with foreign currencies and expressed their interest in learning about Vietnam’s policies on stocks and bonds.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
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