(VOVWORLD) - UK First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab is on a two-day official visit to Vietnam.
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 UK First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab hodls talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh
(Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Wednesday, in Hanoi, both emphasized their desire and determination to build a new vision for Vietnam-UK relations in the next 10 years, affirming their joint efforts towards promoting their Strategic Partnership to a higher level.
Economically, the two sides agreed to encourage and facilitate businesses and investors to work together in such fields as high technology, telecommunications, oil and gas, finance, banking, insurance, renewable energy development, and smart city. They also discussed direction of cooperation in security-defense, development cooperation, education-training, sustainable development, and people-to-people exchange.
 Both sides issue "Joint Statement on the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership: Development Orientation in the Next 10 Years" (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
Deputy Prime Minister Minh and State Secretary Raab agreed to further cooperation between the UK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and closely prepare for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), which the UK will host in 2021.
Both emphasized their support for multilateralism, a rules-based international and regional order, and international coordination in response to common challenges such as maritime security, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
They stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, ensuring safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, resolving disputes by peaceful means without the use of force or threat to use force, respecting international law, supporting the Chairman Declaration of the 36th ASEAN Summit and the Joint Communique of the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting which affirmed that the 1982 UNCLOS is the legal framework governing all sea and ocean activities.
At the end of the talks, the two sides issued "Joint Statement on the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership: Development Orientation in the Next 10 Years."
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 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh speaks to the online Troika Open Conference with Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries and the UK
(Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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On Wednesday afternoon, as ASEAN Chair for 2020, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Minh chaired the online Troika Open Conference with Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries and the UK. Mr. Raab affirmed his support for ASEAN's centrality and announced a £50 million grant to help ASEAN respond to COVID-19 pandemic.