Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held talks with his UK counterpart David Cameron in Hanoi on July 29, focusing on a range of measures to beef up cooperative ties in various fields. The two leaders spoke highly of strengthened relations in a number of realms such as politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, development cooperation, and education-training, as well as the increasing number of bilateral visits in recent years. They agreed to facilitate the exchange of visits at all levels and effectively implement existing dialogue mechanisms in the fields of politics, national defence-security, economics and trade. Sharing the view that economic coordination is a key pillar of the bilateral strategic partnership, both sides pledged all possible support for their business communities to explore each other’s markets and form linkages, especially in infrastructure, finance-banking, insurance, oil and gas and green growth via direct investment, joint-venture and public-private partnership models. PM Cameron affirmed that the UK backs Vietnam’s efforts to reinforce comprehensive ties with the European Union (EU) and the signing of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the EU, adding that the deal will definitely open up new trade and investment opportunities for businesses of the two nations. Referring to education-training cooperation, both leaders vowed to improve operations of the Vietnam-UK Institute for Research and Executive Education, towards establishing the Vietnam-UK University with international standards in the central city of Da Nang. The Vietnamese PM welcomed the UK’s continued assistance in English teaching, building an English examination centre and launching an English popularisation project until 2020 in the national education system. Underscoring science-technology cooperation prospect via the Newton Research Collaboration Programme – a component of the UK Newton Fund, they hoped that the fund will be utilised and help produce feasible innovation ideas. The two sides concurred to reinforce cooperation in preventing organised and transnational crime and terrorism. They agreed to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation and consider the signing of cooperation agreements on personnel training, defence industry and peacekeeping. The two PMs were unanimous in close coordination at international forums and organisations such as the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting, and within the ASEAN-EU framework. They affirmed to continue collaboration in responding to climate change and preparing for their attendance at the UN Climate Change Conference COP 21 in Paris with a view to accelerating the signing of a common agreement in line with principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The two leaders exchanged views on regional and global matters of mutual concern. With regard to the East Sea issue, they voiced concerns over recent tensions in the sea, especially large-scaled construction, expansion and changing of the status quo of reefs in the East Sea, which have threatened peace, stability and safety and freedom of navigation in the region. Both sides emphasised their common stance on peacefully settling regional territorial disputes, avoiding actions that could complicate the situation, not using force or threatening to use force, complying with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and striving to complete a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). PM Cameron invited PM Dung to visit the UK and the Vietnamese leader accepted the invitation with pleasure. Following their talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements on aviation, finance and oil and gas between the countries’ businesses.-VNA