Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam-UK deputy foreign minister-level politicalconsultation took place in Hanoi on January 2.

The eventwas co-chaired by Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Sonand Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific of the Foreign Affairsand Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom Mark Field.

The two sides exchanged and agreed on concrete orientations and measures todevelop the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership in a more intensive, practical andeffective manner, especially in politics-diplomacy, security-defence,trade-investment, education-training, climate change response, and tourism.

Regarding bilateral ties, Son affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importanceto consolidating and developing its cooperation with the UK, a permanent memberof the UN Security Council, who plays an important role in regional and global issues.

The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges and regular meetingsbetween the countries’ high-ranking leaders, continue to effectively realisethe mechanism of the strategic dialogue on diplomacy-security-defence, and enhancecollaboration at multilateral forums, especially the UN.

Appreciating Vietnam’s socio-economic development and international integrationachievements in recent years, Mark Field stressed that trade-investment cooperationcontinues to be one of the pillars in the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership.

At present, the UK is one of the leading trade-investment partners of Vietnamin Europe, with two-way trade hitting 6.1 billion USD in 2017, a rise of 9.5percent against the previous year. The figure was 6.2 billion USD in the 11 monthsof 2018, up 10.1 percent year-on-year. Vietnam attracted 283,000 touristarrivals from the UK in 2017 and 276,000 in last year’s 11-month period.

The two sides consented to maintain close connection to ensure the continuityof bilateral trade and investment relations after the UK leaves the EuropeanUnion.

The Vietnamese side affirmed to create all favourable conditions for UKbusinesses to do effective business in Vietnam in areas of the UK’s strengthand Vietnam’s demand such as energy, health and environment.

The two sides agreed to step up educational collaboration through strengtheningexchanges and connection between universities and research institutes of thetwo countries in the time ahead. At present, 12,000 Vietnamese are pursuingtheir study in the UK.

The UK official applauded recent positive developments in the cooperation betweenthe two countries’ defence ministries, confirming that the UK will continue coordinatingwith the Vietnamese side in effectively implementing bilateral defencecooperation mechanisms on the basis of the memorandum of understanding on cooperationbetween the two defence ministries.

He noted that his country will continue to support Vietnam in participating inthe UN peacekeeping activities.

Regarding security cooperation, the two sides pledged to continue closecoordination in the fight against corruption, organised crime, humantrafficking and wildlife smuggling.

Within the framework of the political consultation, Bui Thanh Son and MarkField also exchanged their views on regional and international issues of sharedconcern. They agreed on the importance of improving the efficiency of globaladministration, regional connectivity and international law.

On the East Sea issue, the two sides affirmed that disputes must be solved bypeaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Conventionon the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and stressed the increasingly important role ofASEAN in maintaining regional peace and stability.-VNA