Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives UK Ambassador Iain Frew
WVR - On the afternoon of April 6, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception for Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) to Vietnam Iain Frew, assuring the diplomat that Vietnam attaches importance to the reinforcement of its ties with the UK.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Vietnam, Iain Frew. (Source: VNA) |
During the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed his delight at the positive developments in bilateral relations in recent times, as evidenced by the record high bilateral trade turnover in 2025. The two sides have effectively cooperated in security and defense, climate change response, education and training, and shared experiences in building an international financial center in Vietnam.
The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam values strengthening relations with the UK and welcomes the UK's positive contributions to the region and the cooperation between the two countries within the frameworks of ASEAN and the United Nations.
The Prime Minister welcomed the establishment of the highest partnership framework – the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership – during the official visit to the UK by General Secretary To Lam. He thanked the UK Government for supporting Vietnam with vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic, assisting in overcoming the consequences of storms and floods, and cooperating on climate change response, disaster prevention, and development support projects in remote and ethnic minority areas.
Appreciating the positive contributions of Ambassador Iain Frew and the British Embassy in Vietnam in promoting bilateral cooperation to achieve significant results, the Prime Minister noted that there is still vast potential for cooperation between the two countries. He suggested that both sides enhance comprehensive cooperation, particularly in trade and investment, finance, education and training, science and technology, defense and security, energy transition, climate change response, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. He also called for facilitating visas for Vietnamese citizens, initially exempting visas for diplomatic passport holders.
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| The Prime Minister welcomed the establishment of the highest partnership framework – the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership – during the official visit to the UK by General Secretary To Lam. (Source: VNA) |
Expressing thanks to the Prime Minister for the meeting, Ambassador Iain Frew highly appreciated Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements and foreign relations amidst global and regional challenges. He affirmed that the UK is ready to contribute to Vietnam's sustainable development goals in the coming time, especially in green transition, digital transformation, and energy transition. He thanked the Prime Minister for always accompanying and providing specific directions to strongly promote Vietnam-UK relations in recent times. He agreed to actively coordinate with Vietnamese ministries and sectors to effectively implement the contents of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework and the outcomes of General Secretary To Lam's visit to the UK.
The Ambassador agreed with the Prime Minister's proposal to continue enhancing exchanges at all levels, especially high-level exchanges across all channels to strengthen political trust. The UK will continue to cooperate and support Vietnam in developing an international financial center, expand training cooperation between universities of the two countries, and promote English as a second language in Vietnam. This will contribute to enhancing cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, facilitating the Vietnamese community in the UK to integrate well and act as a bridge of friendship, thereby promoting bilateral cooperation.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, both sides agreed on the importance of enhancing dialogue respecting international law to maintain peace and stability in the region and globally, including ensuring freedom and security of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, a region of utmost importance to international trade.
