UK Pledges to Promote EU-Vietnam Relations

UK Pledges to Promote EU-Vietnam Relations

The UK will contribute to boosting all-round ties between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam when it holds the Presidency of the EU in the second half of this year, announced Ambassador of the UK to Vietnam Robert Gordon at a press briefing in Hanoi on June 27.

Several initiatives will be carried out till the end of 2005 to promote mutual understanding and cooperative ties between Vietnam and the EU and between the Asian country and the UK, the diplomat said.

Among them, the most noteworthy initiative is "Overcoming WTO challenges", which aims to assist Vietnam in its initial stage of WTO membership.

The ambassador also confirmed that his country would continue to help Vietnam reach its development goals once it has a WTO ticket, and implement other objectives of economic growth and poverty reduction set for the next five years.

The UK expected that Vietnam would take a more active part in global issues, including the fight against organized crime, illegal immigration, and international terrorism, he added.

It annually provides Vietnam with almost US$100 million in non-refundable aid, making it one of the biggest providers of non-refundable aid for the country. The two-way trade between the two countries reached US$1.2 billion in 2004.

The UK is also one of the largest European investors in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$2.2 billion.

Youth, Thanhnienews.com