The Prime Minister held talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

At the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland David Cameron paid an official visit to Vietnam from July 29 to 30.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and British Prime Minister David Cameron review the honor guard. (Photo: VNA)

At the talks following the official welcoming ceremony on the afternoon of July 29, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung warmly welcomed British Prime Minister David Cameron to Vietnam, coinciding with the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening friendly relations and cooperation with the United Kingdom and expressed confidence that the visit would create new momentum, bringing bilateral cooperation to a new level.

Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his delight at being the first British Prime Minister to pay an official visit to Vietnam and sincerely thanked Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the Vietnamese people for the warm welcome extended to the high-level delegation of the British Government.

Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated Vietnam on its significant achievements in socio-economic development and affirmed the British Government's desire to promote comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam.

Regarding bilateral relations, the two Prime Ministers welcomed the extensive developments in cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the areas of political-diplomatic relations, trade-investment, development cooperation, and education-training.

Both sides noted the increase in the number and scale of bilateral visits; agreed to strengthen exchanges of delegations at all levels; and continue to effectively implement existing political-security-defense and economic-trade dialogue mechanisms between the two countries.

Prime Minister David Cameron highly appreciated Vietnam's achievements in the process of international integration as well as its efforts to become a market economy.

Both sides affirmed that economic cooperation is a crucial pillar in the Strategic Partnership and agreed to encourage and facilitate increased contact between businesses and investors of both countries, explore markets, and establish cooperation, especially in areas where both sides have strengths and needs such as infrastructure, finance and banking, insurance, oil and gas, and green growth, through forms of cooperation such as direct investment, joint ventures, and public-private partnerships (PPP).

The British Prime Minister affirmed that the UK Government supports Vietnam in strengthening comprehensive relations with the European Union and supports the early signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the EU, stating that this agreement will open up opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between businesses of the two countries.

Both sides agreed to expand cooperation in the field of education and training; and agreed to promote the effective implementation of the Vietnam-UK Research and Training Institute, aiming towards establishing an internationally standardized Vietnam-UK University in Da Nang.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung welcomed the United Kingdom's continued support for Vietnam in the field of English language teaching, its assistance to the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training in building an English language testing center, and its implementation of the Foreign Language 2020 Project on popularizing English in the national education system.

Both sides emphasized the prospects for scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries through the activities of the Newton Vietnam Innovation Research Program, a bilateral cooperation partnership program in the field of research and innovation, and hoped that both sides would effectively utilize this research fund and produce research projects with high practical applications.

Regarding defense and security, both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating organized crime, transnational crime, and terrorism; and to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation through exploring the possibility of signing agreements on training cooperation, defense industry cooperation, and peacekeeping.

The two Prime Ministers agreed to continue close cooperation between the two countries in international forums and organizations such as the United Nations, ASEM, and within the framework of ASEAN-EU.

Both sides affirmed their commitment to continued cooperation in the field of climate change adaptation and coordinated preparations for participation in the COP 21 conference in Paris, aiming to reach a common agreement at the conference in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

The two Prime Ministers exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Regarding the South China Sea issue, both sides expressed concern about the recent tensions in the South China Sea, particularly the large-scale construction, expansion, and alteration of the status quo of reefs in the South China Sea, which threaten peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation in the region.

Both sides emphasized their shared position on resolving territorial disputes in the region through peaceful means, refraining from actions that would further complicate the situation, avoiding the use of force or the threat of force, adhering to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and striving for the early adoption of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

Prime Minister David Cameron cordially invited Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to visit the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung happily accepted the invitation. The timing of the visit will be arranged through diplomatic channels.

Following the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of several cooperation documents in the fields of aviation, finance, and oil and gas between businesses of the two countries.

According to Vietnam+