Cameron visit fortifies strategic partnership

Cameron held talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and called on the Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Truong Tan Sang in between July 29 and 30. According to a joint statement following the two prime ministers’ discussion, both sides affirmed that economic co-operation would continue to be a priority for the two nations. Dung stressed that Vietnam’s government would generate a favourable business environment for UK companies, particularly in advanced engineering, infrastructure development, oil and gas, banking and finance, and insurance.

On this occasion, a series of business co-operation agreements were signed, including one between Rolls-Royce and Vietnam Airlines worth £340 million ($530.4 million).

In August 2014, Rolls-Royce marked its presence in Vietnam through the opening of a showroom in Hanoi.

Harvey Nash announced it would launch a UK-Vietnam tech hub this year to facilitate dialogue and potential collaboration between Vietnamese and British companies, with strong political support from the UK government.

Also on this occasion, the UK offered £500 million ($780 million) in export credits to Vietnam to fund future infrastructure projects that could benefit from British expertise. The UK Export Finance and Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance will work together to identify suitable projects that may be eligible for this offer.

Both prime ministers welcomed the investment of £100 million ($156 million) by Prudential Vietnam in the first issue of 20-year government bonds. Also worthy of note was the acceptance of ZincOx’s proposal in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to invest £75 million ($117 million) in recycling hazardous waste and reducing carbon emissions from the steel industry, the first for a UK company in Vietnam.

Co-operation in the education sector has also been a focus in the two nations’ relationship over recent years. The statement said that the two prime ministers underlined the importance of education and training. They welcomed the UK’s support for education in Vietnam, from English language training, through to training for the top leadership of the Vietnamese government.

In May 2015, British University Vietnam (BUV) commenced construction of a $70 million campus in the northern province of Hung Yen’s Ecopark urban area. Construction is due for completion in 2016.

This project’s training programme would cover five sectors including international business administration, marketing, accounting, business, and banking finance.

BUV is also planning to co-operate with a Malaysian partner to build an educational and training establishment in the central city of Danang.

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning, in this year’s first half, Vietnam attracted 10 UK investment projects registered with $36 million. As of June 20, 2015, Vietnam had 206 UK valid investment projects, with total registered capital of $3.2 billion. Additionally, UK companies from the British Virgin Islands have also invested approximately $15 billion into Vietnam so far.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the two nations’ bilateral trade reached over $2 billion in this year’s first half.