UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired an official welcome ceremony for and held talks with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam in London on October 29 (local time), as the Vietnamese Party leader is paying an official visit to the UK.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

At the talks, PM Starmer welcomed General Secretary To Lam, his spouse, and a high-level Vietnamese delegation on their official visit to the UK, affirming that the trip marks an important milestone in strengthening the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Congratulating Vietnam on its remarkable achievements in recent years under the leadership of the CPV and the General Secretary personally, the PM emphasised that Vietnam is a dynamic and highly open economy that is playing an increasingly important role in the Asia–Pacific region and is among the UK’s leading partners in Southeast Asia and the Asia–Pacific region.

General Secretary Lam appreciated the impressive achievements the UK has made in socio-economic development, making it the world’s sixth-largest economy and one of the leading global financial centres.

He affirmed that these accomplishments have helped the UK maintain its position as one of the world’s most developed nations, and expressed his confidence that under the leadership of PM Starmer, the UK will continue to grow strongly and make positive contributions to global peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.

In discussing Vietnam–UK cooperation in recent years, the two leaders commended the positive progress of bilateral relations, particularly the efforts of both sides to address existing challenges and seek appropriate solutions in the spirit of cooperation for the common benefit of the two peoples.

They also expressed their delight that Vietnam and the UK share many common views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, and that both sides have maintained close coordination and mutual support at international and regional forums.

The Party chief emphasised that Vietnam always attaches great importance to its traditional friendship with the UK, based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and a forward-looking spirit.

He affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to work closely with the UK to elevate bilateral relations across key pillars such as politics and diplomacy; defence and security; science, technology, and digital transformation; finance and banking; education and training; environment and climate change response; as well as culture and people-to-people exchanges.

The Party General Secretary affirmed that, as a member of ASEAN, Vietnam stands ready to serve as a bridge and promote cooperation between the UK and ASEAN, and act as a gateway for the UK to access the Southeast Asian market.

The two leaders affirmed that Vietnam and the UK hold great potential for cooperation in the new period, particularly in green and sustainable economic and energy transition, digital industry development, and high-quality human resource training.

PM Starmer expressed his desire to work with Vietnam to advance the comprehensive development of bilateral relations, especially within the frameworks of the UK–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

He stressed that the UK Government stands ready to support Vietnam in achieving its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, while encouraging British enterprises to enhance investment and cooperation in Vietnam. He affirmed the UK’s commitment to assisting Vietnam in implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

The two leaders agreed to double two-way trade in the coming time. The British PM expressed his hope that Vietnam will continue supporting cooperation in e-commerce and financial services within the CPTPP framework.

Regarding security and defence cooperation, both sides agreed on the need to diversify collaboration, jointly address illegal migration, and enhance defence collaboration in peacekeeping and training.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern, emphasising the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region; ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight; and resolving disputes in the Asia–Pacific region, including the East Sea, through peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

At the end of the talks, the two leaders issued a Joint declaration on the elevation of Vietnam-UK relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The declaration highlights the significant achievements in bilateral relations, and reaffirms key principles, and outlines major orientations to further strengthen the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the UK, for the long-term interests of their peoples, and for peace, stability, and sustainable development in their respective regions and the world.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the UK Home Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in combating international fraud and a plan on enhanced cooperation on migration issues.

Both sides underscored that the issuance of the joint declaration on the elevation of Vietnam-UK relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, along with the signing of cooperation agreements in migration issues and other areas such as economy, green finance, education and training, healthcare, clean and renewable energy, and local-level cooperation during the visit of Party General Secretary To Lam, holds great significance and lays an important foundation for deepening bilateral cooperation.

The two leaders agreed to work closely together to effectively implement the new partnership framework.

On this occasion, General Secretary Lam conveyed greetings from senior leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to PM Starmer and other UK leaders. He invited PM Starmer to visit Vietnam at an early date. The British PM expressed his sincere thanks and accepted the invitation with pleasure.

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