(VOV) - Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Tuesday received former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is on a 2-day visit to Vietnam.

FM Minh praised the former British PM’s goodwill in supporting and cooperating with Vietnam, actively pursuing a role in consultancy activities between the Office of Tony Blair (OTB) and Vietnamese agencies.

Both host and guest noted the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership’s constant growth with satisfaction, listing advances in fields spanning politics, economics, trade, education, and training.

They praised Vietnamese agencies and the OTB for the cooperation that will prelude further consultancy on State-run enterprise reform, foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, private-public partnerships (PPP), socio-economic development, economic, trade, and investment collaboration, and Vietnam’s international integration.

Minh said the above orientations accord with Vietnam’s needs for its economic restructuring and the shifting of its growth model.

Both sides concurred their close coordination should continue and compared notes on regional and international issues of common concern.