Vietnam, UK hold 11th Strategic Dialogue to promote political trust, expand comprehensive strategic partnership
WVR - On November 3, in London, United Kingdom, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom Rosalie Winterton co-chaired the 11th Vietnam - UK Strategic Dialogue. The two sides have agreed to strengthen political trust and expand substantive cooperation across various fields, reaffirming their commitment to advancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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| The 11th Vietnam - UK Strategic Dialogue took place on November 3, in London, United Kingdom. |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Rosalie Winterton affirmed that the United Kingdom values its relationship with Vietnam, appreciating the positive developments in bilateral relations since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the official visit to the UK by General Secretary and President To Lam in October 2025.
Commending Vietnam's socio-economic achievements, Ms. Winterton confirmed that the United Kingdom considers Vietnam a reliable partner with an important role in the Indo-Pacific region and ASEAN. She emphasized that the UK is ready to accompany and support Vietnam in achieving its strategic development goals in the coming period, expressing a desire for both sides to continue promoting effective and substantive cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom Rosalie Winterton. |
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang congratulated the United Kingdom on its socio-economic development achievements and affirmed that Vietnam values the UK's role and position in the region and the world. She expressed a desire to continue promoting bilateral cooperation to develop more deeply, substantively, and effectively, emphasizing that this Dialogue is significant as it occurs exactly one year after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Providing information on Vietnam's socio-economic and foreign affairs situation and future development orientations, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed a desire for both sides to enhance cooperation in areas where the UK has strengths and Vietnam has needs, such as developing international financial centers, stock markets, and commodity markets. This would contribute to strengthening the relationship between the two countries and bring tangible benefits to their peoples.
Both sides appreciated the positive and impressive developments in bilateral relations over the past period, agreeing to continue consolidating political trust through exchanges of delegations at all levels and across channels, effectively utilizing existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and promoting substantive cooperation in areas such as defense-security, economy-trade-investment, and maritime cooperation. They also agreed to closely coordinate and support each other at the United Nations and other multilateral forums where both countries are members, and within the ASEAN-UK relationship framework, especially as Vietnam assumes the role of coordinator for the 2024-2027 period.
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| Delegates participating in the dialogue. |
Both sides affirmed that the effective implementation of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will continue to promote trade, investment, and business connectivity between the two countries. They agreed to coordinate the organization of the 15th session of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO 15) in Hanoi in 2026, aiming to achieve bilateral trade turnover of 15 billion pounds by 2030.
Emphasisng finance and green transition as important cooperation pillars, Minister of State Winterton suggested that both sides continue to effectively leverage existing cooperation programs and initiatives, including the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) and the Offshore Wind Partnership. They also aim to mobilize resources within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), promoting green finance and clean energy development, contributing to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and advancing the establishment of a UK lighthouse project in Vietnam.
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang thanked the United Kingdom for its support in establishing the International Financial Center (IFC) and the upgrade of Vietnam's stock market to secondary emerging market status by FTSE Russell in September 2026. The Deputy Minister requested that the UK continue to promote connectivity, encourage financial institutions, banks, and investment funds to participate in building the International Financial Center and developing the capital market in Vietnam. She also called for enhanced cooperation in developing new financial products and services, training high-quality human resources, and effectively implementing agreements on clean energy and green finance cooperation.
Both sides also discussed cooperation in science-technology, education-training, and people-to-people exchanges, expressing satisfaction with the number of British tourists visiting Vietnam reaching 300,000 in the first nine months of 2026. They agreed to promote connections between innovation ecosystems, enhance joint research and technology transfer, facilitate the establishment of branches of leading UK universities in Vietnam, support improving education quality, share experiences in making English a second language in schools, and expand scholarship programs for Vietnamese students.
On this occasion, both sides exchanged views on several international and regional issues of mutual concern, affirming their stance in supporting the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. They emphasised the peaceful resolution of disputes based on international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982), and the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early completion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
During the working visit, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang also met with Mr. Mark Garnier, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vietnam (APPG for Vietnam) in the UK Parliament (November 3, 2026); Mr. Matt Western, the UK Government's Trade Envoy for Vietnam (November 4, 2026); and representatives of Vietnamese associations and communities in the UK.
