Seminar looks into opportunities for Vietnam – UK trade cooperation

Participants at the seminar (Photo: VNA)

A seminar on new areas for trade and business cooperation, especially in energy, climate change adaptation, green transformation and finance, education, healthcare, technology, and infrastructure, between Vietnam and the UK was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK in collaboration with British Expertise International (BEI) on April 18.

As part of activities within the framework of the Vietnam Days in the UK 2023 from March 28 – April 27 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the event focused on opportunities to further promote trade cooperation between the two countries after the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement.

Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long and the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Vietnam Senator Mark Garnier, answered questions from British enterprises regarding the business environment and investment opportunities in Vietnam.

According to Long, there is great potential for the two sides to expand their trade links, especially after the UK joins the CPTPP.

As rapidly developing economy, Vietnam is a large consumer market with increasing demand for high-quality products, he emphasised, pointing out opportunities for UK firms to export whisky, food, and agricultural products to Vietnam.

Collaboration on renewable energy, green transition, and green finance will be key cooperation areas in the bilateral relations in the coming years as both countries are promoting efforts to respond to climate change, Long said, adding that with its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Vietnam will need financial and technical assistance, and this opens up new cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

For his part, Garnier spoke highly of Vietnam’s economic development achievements in recent years, and its dynamism, saying that Vietnam boasts perfect opportunities for stepping up economic ties with countries and partners seeking growth opportunities.

He pointed out seven sectors that the UK wishes to beef up cooperation with Vietnam, including energy, education, financial service, science, healthcare, technology, and infrastructure.

With over 3,000 km of coastline and its solar energy potential, Vietnam boasts great potential to develop onshore and offshore wind farms as well as solar power plants, he said, indicating that these are good opportunities for UK businesses to cooperate with Vietnam.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and the UK hit 6.83 billion USD in 2022, of which Vietnam's exports were 6.06 billion USD, up 5.2% from the previous year. The UK is Vietnam's 9th largest importer.

The UK is among the top 15 largest foreign investors in Vietnam with 500 projects with a total registered capital of 4.19 billion USD./.