British Ambassador Iain Frew: Vietnam is turning global challenges into opportunities for development

General Secretary and President To Lam delivers the keynote speech at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue, leaving a strong impression on the international community and demonstrating Vietnam’s proactive approach to regional and global changes. (Source: VNA)

British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew during his interview with the World and Vietnam Report. (Photo: Thanh Long)

How does the Ambassador assess the impact of Vietnamese diplomacy in enhancing the country’s standing, projecting its image and strengthening its voice on the international stage in recent years?

I believe Vietnam’s image and influence on the international stage have been growing significantly, driven first and foremost by the increasingly broad, substantive and in-depth network of international relations that Vietnam has proactively built with partners around the world.

At the bilateral level, Vietnam has developed a highly impressive network of partnerships. The growing number of Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships is a clear indication of the country’s rising standing within the international system. In 2025, the United Kingdom and Vietnam were also proud to elevate their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, opening an ambitious framework for cooperation in the next phase of development.

In my view, such partnership frameworks are not merely symbolic or simply a reflection of closer ties between countries. More importantly, they establish a concrete roadmap for cooperation, enabling both sides to identify areas for joint action and the goals they seek to achieve. With the UK, Vietnam has identified a number of important areas for cooperation, ranging from regional and maritime security to broader challenges facing the international order, including promoting and upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).

The two countries have also established clear directions for cooperation in support of Vietnam’s growth and development ambitions, including efforts to advance the development of an international financial centre in Vietnam. These achievements demonstrate that bilateral diplomacy is becoming an important driver for expanding the scope of cooperation and directly supporting the country’s development objectives.

General Secretary To Lam and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer agree to elevate Vietnam-UK relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to the UK in October 2025. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

At the same time, Vietnam’s growing influence is increasingly evident beyond bilateral relations, particularly through multilateral mechanisms and international forums. Vietnam’s voice is carrying greater weight at the United Nations, its specialised agencies, ASEAN and regional frameworks such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which Vietnam chairs this year.

What particularly impresses me is Vietnam’s increasingly proactive, constructive and responsible engagement in multilateral forums, where it seeks to contribute its voice and work with other countries to find solutions to shared challenges. Vietnam’s growing contribution to UN peacekeeping operations is a notable example. Likewise, as Chair of the CPTPP, Vietnam is advancing efforts to reinforce the international trading system through a high-standard and progressive trade framework.

Another important milestone, in my view, was General Secretary and President To Lam’s speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue earlier this year. It offered a clear, direct and sharp assessment of the international environment, while demonstrating how Vietnam understands global developments and seeks to engage proactively in an increasingly complex international landscape.

At the same time, Vietnam’s growing role and voice also bring greater responsibilities and challenges. As more countries look to Vietnam to articulate its views, engage more deeply in common issues and bring its initiatives and solutions to the international table, this reflects the growing value that the international community places on Vietnam’s contribution. I very much welcome this trend.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung receives British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew. (Source: VGP)

Both Vietnam and the UK attach importance to cooperation in emerging areas such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, green finance and sustainable growth. In your view, how should Vietnamese diplomacy strengthen its role in mobilising international resources to support the country’s development goals?

First and foremost, it is important to understand the role of a diplomat. The core value of diplomacy lies in its ability to serve as a bridge, bringing together people, ideas and institutions in creative and collaborative ways to open up new opportunities and shape new paths for the future.

When diplomats perform this role effectively, they can engage proactively with emerging fields, identify practical needs and connect expertise with the right opportunities. In artificial intelligence, for example, this could mean bringing technology experts closer to opportunities to apply AI in education and healthcare, or to new business models in communications and technology. Diplomacy, therefore, is about creating meaningful connections, from promoting business cooperation and organising delegations to expanding networks of partners, while continuously strengthening diplomats’ own knowledge and understanding of issues that are shaping the future.

I believe this bridging role is particularly important as technology and innovation are developing at an extraordinary pace. Across many of the development areas I have mentioned, there are already strong examples of Vietnamese and British diplomats working together to advance mutual interests and contribute to Vietnam’s development objectives.

In climate and energy, for instance, the two countries are working together through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to mobilise greater investment in renewable energy in Vietnam. In artificial intelligence, meanwhile, both sides are promoting responsible AI governance, helping Vietnam make the most of the opportunities created by emerging technologies as it attracts and deploys investment.

Cooperation between the two countries and their business communities is also expanding across a broad range of sectors. I believe Vietnamese diplomats should continue along this path by proactively building new partnerships, deepening their understanding of innovative fields and creating the conditions for more effective collaboration.

No country or institution can possess all the knowledge and expertise required to address emerging challenges. What matters is knowing what is needed, identifying those with the right expertise and bringing them together. When diplomacy performs that connecting role effectively, international resources, knowledge and initiatives can be transformed into tangible opportunities that directly contribute to Vietnam’s development.

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

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