During his visit, Lord Green will discuss ways in which the UK can support urban development plans in Ho Chi Minh City, including work on an urban railway system, the new Thu Thiem Central Business District and Long Thanh international hub airport. He will share experience in rejuvenating inner city areas in the UK over the years, offering great ideas and examples of how urban development can transform places and lives. Lord Green’s visit will also be a chance to share the UK’s experience in successfully delivering the London 2012 Olympics and Para-Olympics - the world’s largest sporting events - with the Vietnamese Government as they prepare for the 2019 Asian Games (ASIAD). The embassy quoted Ambassador Antony Stokes, saying “We set ourselves ambitious targets to boost trade and investment under the 2010 Strategic Partnership Agreement. Now in the 40th year of Vietnam – UK diplomatic relations, this high level visit will stimulate further growth and … [Read more...]

At the launch ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK, Tran Quang Hoan, reviewed Vietnam’s development from 1945 until now, highlighting the achievements Vietnam has made in politics, diplomacy and economy thanks to its renewal policy. Mr Hoan said the programme will help people around the world learn more about Vietnam. Images of Ha Long Bay, Vietnamese girls in Ao Dai (traditional long white dress) and historical sites in Ho Chi Minh City, will be displayed on taxies for six months. A similar advertisement programme method is being used effectively in many countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Participants in the programme include UK companies like Taxi Media, N-Compass, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), Wanderlust and Travel Weekly magazines, travel agents and several social and press agencies. … [Read more...]

The group, known as the British Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, has drawn 20 governmental and non-governmental organisations together to share information, and create joint education and awareness campaigns. It will also help security forces to protect victims and, because of its origins, target known British child-sex offenders in Vietnam. The Chief Executive of the British group, Jim Gamble, said he had shared his expertise in many fields with his Vietnamese counterparts. This included helping the Vietnamese police to arrest known foreign sex offenders who think they can hide in Southeast Asian countries. He added that the group aims to become an efficient organisation providing information relevant to local demand. The British Ambassador to Vietnam, Mark Kent, said that he welcomed the joint cooperation between child protection groups in both nations as this was good news for children and gives a serious warning to offenders. The new group is modeled on others … [Read more...]

The meeting, co-organised by the Ministry of Education and Training and the British Council, is part of activities of a memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation signed by the Vietnamese and British governments in 2008, which declared tertiary education as one of the five key areas for cooperation between the two countries. Addressing the event, British Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Peter Connolly said that over the past years the two countries have shared a common view on the importance of reforming education. Reaffirming that the British Government will continue to assist Vietnam in the area, he cited the fact that many British universities are interested in establishing cooperative ties with their Vietnamese counterparts. According to the British diplomat, more than 200 Vietnamese students are studying in Britain thanks to British Government scholarships. Dr. Nguyen Thi Le Huong from the Ministry of Education and Training told the participants in the meeting that the … [Read more...]

At the event were 500 Vietnamese residents, students and officials of representative agencies living and working in the UK, and British friends with a strong attachment to Vietnam. At the get-together, Vietnamese ambassador to the UK and Northern Ireland, Tran Quang Hoan, conveyed the New-Year greetings of President Nguyen Minh Triet and other Party and State leaders to the entire Vietnamese overseas community in the UK. On behalf of the 6,000 Vietnamese students in the UK, the Chairman of the Vietnamese Students Association expressed new determination to support practical activities such as teaching Vietnamese to overseas’ children. At the event, participants enjoyed traditional Vietnamese food and art performances. The event raised donations of more than GBP1,458 (equivalent to VND43.5 million). This money will be forwarded to a fund for the poor through the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese. … [Read more...]

British Ambassador to Vietnam Anthony Stokes and the Director of the British University Vietnam (BUV) Graeme Davies penned a MoU on strengthening tertiary education cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador Stokes said the signing demonstrates close relations between the two countries, especially when they agreed to establish a strategic partnership in 2010. BUV is one of the key projects in the strategy, which has received significant support from the British Government, said the diplomat. BUV provides courses from famous British universities, such as London and Staffordshire in the three fields of banking and finance, international business management and marketing management. The university began recruiting students in October 2010 in Hanoi. It will officially open its main office in Hung Yen province- about 30km from Hanoi- in 2014. The second MoU was signed between the two countries’ accounting associations. It refers to key areas such as business management, … [Read more...]

Addressing a seminar in Hanoi on February 18, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Manh Hung stressed that climate change has been exerting a negative impact on socio-economic development and transport activities in Vietnam. Vietnam is fully aware of challenges posed by climate change and has worked out a plan of action to deal with it, said Hung. He said the plan defines specific actions for the 2011-2015 period including a pilot implementation of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. At the seminar jointly held by the Ministry of Transport and the British Embassy, experts from the two countries discussed the impact of climate change, climate change scenarios in Vietnam and the UK’s experience in developing environmentally-friendly vehicles. UK ambassador Antony Stokes expressed his belief that Vietnam’s action plan will help address challenges arising from socio-economic development. … [Read more...]

The organizers – the British Council and the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) – said the conference aims to share the knowledge and experience in sustainable architecture of the UK with Vietnam, and help build capacity among young Vietnamese designers and architects. Participants discussed urgent issues related to the current design and architecture sector, such as an international sustainable development model, an urban sustainable development project in Vietnam, a real model on sustainable construction, management of construction projects, and energy use models in Ho Chi Minh City. They have the chance to meet with speakers involved in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, Long Thanh Airport and Thanh Da Peninsula projects. Speaking at the conference, UK Ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes emphasized that sustainability plays an important role in daily life, particularly in architecture and construction which seriously affect surrounding environment. On the occasion, the British … [Read more...]

Representatives from the Government Chief Inspectorate, the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control, and the Danang municipal People’s Council and Committee attended the event, along with inspectors from 19 central and central highland provinces, British ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes and local and foreign legal experts. Participants presented 14 reports on hands-on experience and solutions for combating corruption in localities, while experts introduced good local governance practices for Vietnam. The seminar also focused on analyzing data, learning lessons from experiences in dealing with corruption, and evaluating the real situation and results of measures to prevent and control corruption five years after the Anti-Corruption Law was implemented. To date, Vietnam has successfully organized 10 anti-corruption dialogues with international donors, focusing on managing areas at high risk of corruption such as construction capital investment, health … [Read more...]

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the affirmation at the 11th Anti- Corruption Dialogue (ACD) themed “Anti-Corruption Work in Locality: Reality and Solutions” which was held in Hanoi on December 6. The dialogue reviewed anti-corruption measures across various Vietnamese localities during the past five years, a period which saw major changes in making State apparatus and administrative procedures more open and transparent. During the review period, the inspectors conducted nearly 63,000 checks and asked the investigation agency to handle 464 corruption cases, adding more than VND1trillion to the State budget. Corruption has become increasingly complicated as it operates across various sectors and poses an enormous challenge to the Vietnamese Party and State. In his speech, Deputy PM Phuc said corruption in areas such as land management, capital investment construction, public investment and State budget management is a burning issue in localities, but no formal … [Read more...]

The two-day event has drawn 200 scholars, entrepreneurs, researchers, representatives from businesses and associations from Vietnam, the UK, the US, Holland, Italy, the Czech Republic and Malaysia to share the latest knowledge of sustainable built environment and establish cooperative relations. Addressing the seminar, deputy minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi and UK ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes agreed on the need to create and maintain a sustainable built environment for now and the future. Nghi said this is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Government of Vietnam has approved an action plan to prevent construction projects from causing environmental problems and posing challenges for the country. Angela Brady, the UK's Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said she is willing to share experience in research and cooperation with Vietnam in sustainable construction work. The event was co-organised by British Council Vietnam, UK Trade & … [Read more...]

The forum attracted 40 outstanding young people selected from 400 profiles nationwide, who shared actions pertaining to the environment and community. Themed “Be Active Citizens”, it focuses discussions on climate change and natural disasters, energy, green economy, bio-diversification, the poor and those who are vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. Young citizens will realise challenges facing Vietnam to build initiatives towards a sustainable future. At the opening ceremony, Director of the British Council in Vietnam Chris Brown said that Vietnam is entering a “golden population structure” period with nearly 50% belonging to age groups from 0-14 and over 65. As a result, the forum has a direct impact on participants who will be ambassadors on environment and sustainable development with specific actions. The Vietnam Youth and Sustainable Development Summit (VYS) 2014 - a follow-up activity in the program “Be Active Citizens” … [Read more...]

Currently non-European nationals coming to work, study or join family members receive free medical treatment under the UK’s NHS in the same way as a permanent resident. These changes will ensure that those coming to live in the UK make an appropriate financial contribution to the cost of their healthcare. The health surcharge will be £200 per year and £150 per year for students and will be payable at the same time that an individual submits their visa application on-line. Visa applicants will need to pay up-front for the total period of their UK visa. British Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever said, “The UK is hugely proud of its National Health Service, which provides world class care to all residents. It is only fair that those coming to live or study in the UK make a financial contribution to the public services they are entitled to access, which is why we are introducing this change. “We, of course, recognise the very valuable contribution those … [Read more...]

Vietnam is located in a relatively high-risk region for newly emerged and re-emerging infectious diseases. Costs for the treatment of infectious diseases have already burdened the country’s fragile healthcare system and the situation is worsening as antimicrobial resistance increases year after year. The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) -Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Infectious Diseases Partnership Initiative aims to provide substantive support for joint Vietnamese-UK researchers working in the area of infectious disease research. It is to deliver research funding for internationally competitive and innovative collaborative projects between scientists from Vietnam and the UK that will encourage the pursuit of shared research interests. Total funding for this initiative from both sides is £2.6million for up to 5 three-year projects (2016-2018). The Partnership Initiative is now calling for joint research proposals from the two countries. Research … [Read more...]

The Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) said that the fact that Vietnam officially signed the deal with the US, the last out of 28 partners requiring bilateral talks on Vietnam’s entry to the WTO, indicates that the country should joint the global body before the end of 2006, after 11 years of bilateral and multi-lateral negotiations. The US-based Washington Post newspaper quoted Chairman of the United States-Vietnam Trade Council (USVTC) Virginia Foote as saying that a jump in two-way trade between the two countries will be seen soon after Vietnam’s accession. Meanwhile, the American magazine Forbes quoted US Deputy Trade Representative, Ambassador Karan Bhatia as saying that there is strong support from both US political parties for the granting of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status to Vietnam. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that two-way trade between Vietnam and the US increased by 20 percent to US$7.8 billion in 2005. Under the agreement, … [Read more...]

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on July 3 reported that a number of cooperation agreements in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and maritime transport will be signed during the PM’s visit from July 4-6. The BBC quoted the Vietnamese Ambassador to India Vu Quang Diem as saying both countries have great potential for cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology, education and tourism. The Vietnamese PM is expected to meet and hold talks with Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sign cooperation agreements between the two countries on July 6. Voice of America (VOA) on July 3 said that India’s “Look East” policy will be further developed following Mr Dung’s visit. It quoted Ambassador Diem as saying the visit is expected to bring the bilateral relationship to a new height by strengthening comprehensive cooperation. The radio reported that Vietnam-India trade has increased sharply from just US$72 … [Read more...]

The PM made the affirmation at a reception in Hanoi on January 8 for representatives of 14 leading groups of the UK, including BP, Dragon Capital, Rolls-Royce, Prudential and HSBC and UK Ambassador to Vietnam Mark Kent. “The Vietnamese government will do its best to help British businesspeople to reap the fruits of their investment,” PM Dung emphasised. Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK has reached nearly US$2 billion and the UK ranks third among European Union investors in Vietnam. The British businesses highly value the strong growth of Vietnam’s economy and commit themselves to making a long-term investment in the country. They said they hope to continue getting strong support from the Vietnamese government to facilitate the deployment of their investment projects in the country.UK Ambassador to Vietnam Mark Kent also said Vietnam is one of the 16 markets of particular interests to the UK and wished that the PM would visit his country soon. … [Read more...]

The diplomat made the remark at a press conference in Hanoi on February 27 regarding PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s UK visit, scheduled from March 4-5. He said that the UK will focus on five areas in its cooperation with Vietnam. Trade and investment relations, one of key areas for cooperation between the UK and Vietnam has been increasingly growing. Two-way trade currently stood at US$1.8 billion and the UK’s investment in the Southeast Asian nation was about US$1.4 billion. Ambassador Kent said he expects the figures to further increase following the visit. He hinted that several “impressive” contracts would be signed during the PM’s trip. Regarding development assistance, he said Vietnam is a success story and the UK has been actively cooperating with the country in this area. The British Ambassador also underlined foreign policy, education and immigration as areas of interest. … [Read more...]

At a press briefing in Hanoi on February 27, Mr Kent said that the PM will have a busy working agenda in Britain, including talks and meetings with the British Government and parliament leaders, focusing on investment and trade cooperation.The ambassador said that trade exchange between Britain and Vietnam has grown and flourished in recent times, reaching US$1.8 billion in 2007. Of the total figure, US$1.6 billion was worth of Vietnamese exports. To boost its exports to Britain, he said that Vietnam should develop products with a high proportion of knowledge and technology. He stressed the need to develop education and training to supply well-qualified human resources for hi-tech industries. The ambassador said that a boost in exports will depend on Vietnamese businesses’ capacity to apply new technology in the production of highly competitive products, meeting the requirements of demanding markets such as Britain and the European Union (EU). Regarding priority areas during his … [Read more...]

Mr Dung and his entourage were welcomed at Heathrow airport by several British diplomats, Vietnamese ambassador to the UK Tran Quang Hoan and representatives of the Vietnamese community there. Later, Mr Dung met with Chief Executive of Roll-Royce John Rose and Vice Chairman of Barclays Capital David Wright. On March 4, Mr Dung is scheduled to attend a roundtable meeting with leading investment and financial specialists, the mayor of London and representatives of several big economic groups. He will also attend a Vietnam-UK business forum to explore business opportunities in the Southeast Asian country in the 21st century. On March 5 Mr Dung will hold talks with his British counterpart Gordon Brown to discuss measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, education and training, and many other fields. … [Read more...]