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VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Cuong and British Ambassador to Vietnam, Dr. Antony Stokes have signed the Vietnam-UK 2011 Action Plan which sets out a wide range of new initiatives on all seven pillars of the partnership.
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| Photo: Vietnam+ |
The seven areas of cooperation
for 2011 include political - diplomatic cooperation; global and regional issues;
trade and investment; sustainable socio-economic development cooperation;
education, training, science and technology; security and defence; and
people-to-people links.
Ambassador Antony Stokes expressed his pleasure at the signing of the Action
Plan soon after the Strategic Partnership Declaration was signed during Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem’s visit to the UK last
September.
“The Action Plan turns the high level agreement of the Strategic Partnership
into concrete detail”, the ambassador said, saying he believes the signing of
the document will heighten Vietnam-UK bilateral ties.
As agreed, the two governments will continue to deliver concrete outcomes in
traditional areas of work such as education and trade and investment. Some
outstanding projects include direct flights from Vietnam to London in the second
half of this year and the initial operations of the UK - Vietnam International
University in Da Nang this year.
The launch of direct flights from HCM City and Hanoi to London would be a
positive stimulation not only for tourism but also for trade and
people-to-people links, Antony Stokes said.
The ambassador also informed reporters of the Vietnam visit by London’s Lord
Mayor in March, which he believes will bring huge opportunities for the
Southeast Asia country in infrastructure improvement to encourage economic
growth and investment, as the Lord Mayor is an expert in public-private
partnerships.
On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Ambassador Anthony Stokes said the
visit will also open up great opportunities for British financial service
companies to seek investment in Vietnam, as London is known as a major world
financial service centre.
Antony Stokes and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh signed the
agreed Minutes of the UK-Vietnam Joint Economic Trade Committee meeting which
took place in London in late November, 2010.
This event has paved the way for further commitments by both sides to improve the business environment.
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