VNF - In the morning of December 7 in Hanoi, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam-UK Friendship Association solemnly held the 45th anniversary diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United Kingdom.

Over the last 45 years, the relationship between Vietnam and the United Kingdom has been increasingly strengthened, especially after the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnerships in September 2010.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Hoang Van Dung, President of the Vietnam-UK Friendship Association summarized the achievements that the two countries have achieved in many fields.

Mr. Hoang Van Dung, President of the Vietnam-UK Friendship Association summarized the achievements that the two countries have achieved in many fields.

Politically, the two sides exchanged high-ranking delegations, including the visit to England by National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung in December 2011; by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in January 2013; by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh in April 2014 and most recently the visit to the UK by Deputy PM, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

On the British side, British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Vietnam in 2012, 2013, and 2014; British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Vietnam in 2015; Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Eleanor Laing visited Vietnam in 2016; And most recently in early December 2018 is the 6th visit of the Duke of York - Prince Andrew. These visits have contributed to enhancing relations between the two countries in many fields.

In terms of economic and investment cooperation, the UK is currently the third largest trading partner of Vietnam in the European Union and the 11th among countries and territories with foreign investment in Vietnam. The total number of valid projects is 267, with a registered capital of USD 3.71 billion.

In terms of education, the number of Vietnamese students in the UK has grown significantly, with 12,000 students.

Mr. Hoang Van Dung added that people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have also increased significantly over the past years. The British people increasingly understand the culture, the country and the people of Vietnam. The number of British visitors to Vietnam has increased rapidly, reaching nearly 300,000 people in 2017.

Also at the ceremony, British Ambassador Gareth Ward, who has just been awarded the Vietnamese certificate C1 by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, made the audience very excited about his speech in Vietnamese.

The ambassador said humor even though he had just started his term for 4.5 months, not 45 years, but he had the opportunity to learn all about Vietnam and the relationship between the two countries.

British Ambassador Gareth Ward excites the audience by his fluent English

Ambassador recalled the events in the series of activities commemorating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United Kingdom, which left a great impression on him. Including the visit of British ships to the port of Saigon, which according to Ambassador is evidence of very close defense relationship between the two countries.

The second event is the British festival held at Hoan Kiem lake in October with the participation of hundreds of thousands. This is the largest activity in the series of activities to commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Britain. And most recently, the visit of the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, also during the Prince’s visit, he organized a contest for startup companies in Vietnam.

The Ambassador expressed that he is quite comfortable with the support of the Vietnam-UK Friendship Association in organizing activities to promote the relationship between the two countries. Finally, the Ambassador thanked and congratulated the organizers of the ceremony.

Performing arts to celebrate 45 anniversary of diplomatic relations of Vietnam - UK

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