Overview of the meeting. Photo: VNA

In Ho Chi Minh City, on April 5, Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee received Graham Stuart, trade envoy of the British Prime Minister in charge of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, who is on a business trip in HCMC.

On behalf of the city's leaders, Phan Van Mai welcomed Graham Stuart's visit and working visit to Vietnam, contributing to restarting and strengthening the cooperation between the two countries that was stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When the Covid-19 pandemic is under control, Ho Chi Minh City wants the UK to foster agreed cooperation programs and projects.

The two sides work together to find new programs in the fields that Ho Chi Minh City has needs and the UK has strengths such as traffic management, waste treatment, climate change prevention and control, and smart city construction.

Phan Van Mai said the city wants to enhance cooperation with the UK in trade, investment, tourism, cooperation in human resource training. HCMC also wants to strengthen research, technology transfer, experience sharing in healthcare and education with the UK.

The city also wishes to strengthen exchange activities between HCMC and British businesses to soon have concrete, practical and effective cooperation products for both sides.

Phan Van Mai also wishes to receive the support and cooperation of the UK in introducing experienced experts and organizations. This is to help the city develop the the legal framework to operate the financial center, and to involve potential British investors in the construction process.

He also appreciated and supported the UK's initiative to organize a global education forum in Ho Chi Minh City. He supported the British Council to establish an international training center in the city, in line with the city's development plan in education and training.

Graham Stuart congratulated Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City on successfully controlling the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that the visit and work in Vietnam aims to enhance the relationship between the UK and Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City.

Appreciating the potential for cooperation between the two sides, Graham Stuart said that the UK attaches great importance to the location and potential of Ho Chi Minh City.

He wishes to foster extensive cooperation with the city in areas of mutual interest such as green transport development, healthcare, human resource training, smart city construction, and digital transformation.

The British Prime Minister's Trade Envoy said that the UK is interested in education and training of human resources. The UK is also planning to host a global education forum in Ho Chi Minh City.

The forum aims to share experiences, find ways to strengthen education, train high-quality human resources to meet the actual requirements and challenges of the city in the development process.

Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee (4th from right) received Graham Stuart, trade envoy of the British Prime Minister in charge of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (4th from left). Photo: VNA

The UK is also interested in the project to build the financial center of Ho Chi Minh City. They want to support, exchange delegations, experts, share experiences in finance and banking as well as the process of building and operating the Financial Center.

The UK has experience in this field and is committed to accompanying and supporting the city in building the financial center.

With the recent positive developments in trade cooperation between the UK and Vietnam, Graham Stuart said that the relationship between the UK and Ho Chi Minh City will continue to be strengthened, bringing benefits practical for both sides.

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