Nghe An Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy arrives in London, starting a working visit to the UK

After finishing the working program in the Netherlands, on the afternoon of June 11 (local time), the delegation of Nghe An province led by comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation arrived in London, starting a visit and working in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).

The working delegation included comrades: Le Duc Cuong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Organization Committee; Major General Bui Quang Thanh - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Director of the Provincial Police; Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Bui Dinh Long - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Directors of the departments: Planning and Investment, Finance, Transport, Agriculture and Rural Development, Foreign Affairs.

With a GDP of $3,159 billion in 2023, the UK is the world's 6th largest economy made up of 4 economies: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It is one of the most globalized economies in the world, with a free trade, anti-protectionist policy. London is one of the most important financial centers in the world along with New York and Tokyo.

Key economic sectors of the UK include: Banking, finance, insurance, education and training, steel production, shipbuilding, coal mining, chemical industries, electronics, telecommunications, high technology, textiles, garments, etc.

Established in 1973, the relationship between Vietnam and the UK has developed strongly. In March 2008, the leaders of the two countries issued a Joint Statement affirming the promotion of the bilateral relationship to become more in-depth, effective and stable in the direction of "Partnership for Development".

In September 2010, the two countries signed a Joint Statement on the establishment of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership. In September 2020, the two sides issued a new Joint Statement on Strategic Partnership with 7 priority areas of cooperation and affirmed that the two sides aim to elevate the relationship to a higher level in the next 10 years.

Vietnam and the United Kingdom officially signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on December 29, 2020 on the principle of inheriting the EVFTA (Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union), after the country left the European Union (EU) - "Brexit", with necessary adjustments to ensure compliance with the bilateral trade framework.

Currently, the UK is the 3rd largest trading partner in the European market, the 9th largest importer of Vietnamese goods in the world and has issued an official letter recognizing Vietnam's market status.

In 2023, the UK will be the 12th member and the first European country to sign an agreement to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Vietnam is one of the members.

This is a great opportunity to continue developing bilateral trade between the two countries. In the working program of the 7th Session (which will return to work for the second time from June 18 to June 28), the 15th National Assembly will consider ratifying the UK's accession document to the CPTPP Agreement.

However, the cooperation between Nghe An province and UK partners is still quite modest. In the province, there are currently 2 FDI projects from British investors with a total registered investment capital of 4.04 million USD. Specifically: Premium Fashion Vietnam Project in the field of design and garment production and Apollo International English Center Project (facility 1) under the Nghe An Branch of Apollo Vietnam Education and Training Organization in the field of education.

In terms of trade, in 2023, export turnover to the UK market reached 12.5 million USD. Import turnover from the UK market reached 271 thousand USD. In the first quarter of 2024, export turnover to the UK market reached 5.3 million USD. Main export items include: Textiles, footwear, sandals, corrugated iron, steel of all kinds, processed fruits and fruit juices, etc. Main import items include: Machinery and equipment, raw materials for production, chemicals, etc.

Therefore, this working trip of Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy and the delegation aims to introduce and promote the province's potential and strengths and seek investment attraction opportunities through working with partners in the UK such as: Newhaven City Government, Newhaven Chamber of Commerce, West London Chamber of Commerce;...

Immediately after arriving in London, the Nghe An province delegation led by Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy visited and worked at the Vietnamese Embassy.

Comrade To Minh Thu - Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy and the Embassy's staff expressed their joy in welcoming the delegation to visit and work; at the same time, they introduced the activities of the Embassy and the situation of the overseas Vietnamese community in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Nghe An Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy thanked the leaders and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK for their warm welcome and careful coordination in preparing for this working trip of the Nghe An delegation. He shared: Although far apart in terms of geography, history, and political system, the UK is not too unfamiliar to many generations of Vietnamese people. When mentioning the UK, many people will immediately think of English Premier League football, studying in the UK, English language training programs, and the UK's ODA programs...

Providing information on the socio-economic situation, development orientation and goals of the province, and the cooperation situation with the UK, the head of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee hopes that the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK will pay attention to and support Nghe An province in developing cooperative relations with UK partners.

The focus is to consider and introduce suitable localities with many similar characteristics to exchange and implement friendly and economic cooperation activities with Nghe An province; at the same time, connect with investors and large, strong British enterprises to invest in areas that the province is focusing on attracting investment, with many potentials and advantages such as: high-tech agriculture, supporting industry, mechanical engineering, agricultural processing, tourism, education and training, etc.

Nghe An also hopes that through the Embassy's bridge, it will be able to access official development assistance (ODA) and NGOs in the fields of agriculture and rural areas combined with poverty reduction, such as: Developing essential rural infrastructure for the poor (rural transport, domestic water supply, schools, medical stations, etc.); developing irrigation works combined with natural disaster prevention and mitigation; creating jobs combined with sustainable poverty reduction.

Congratulating Nghe An on its development achievements, comrade To Minh Thu expressed his willingness to support the province in approaching UK partners and investors.