Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Iain Frew (Photo: The British Embassy in Vietnam).

Vietnam - UK relations gain impressive achievements

How do you feel starting your term as British Ambassador to Vietnam, especially at a special time of the upcoming 50th founding anniversary of the Vietnam - UK diplomatic relations (1973 - 2023)?

I have been here for 3 months and Vietnam has been amazing and so full of energy. I have been welcomed so warmly by everyone I have met. Unfortunately, we had the death of the Queen within my first few weeks but I was also touched by the reaction of people here. It was a sad moment for the UK.

On the other hand, I have seen some really incredible enthusiasm from Vietnam for the England and Welsh football teams in the World Cup 2022. Unfortunately, England did not succeed this time, nevertheless, Vietnam had huge support both in person and online for the England football team.

This time last year, I was in London, preparing for my first diplomatic term in Asia. I am honored to come to Vietnam at such a wonderful time because there are many events such as 50 years of diplomatic relations, a newly adopted agreement on strategic partnership, the UKVFTA free trade agreement officially coming into force, the UK becoming a dialogue partner of ASEAN. Also, UK continues to aim to be part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Vietnam is a member.

Having witnessed the close cooperation in many areas between the two countries, I can confirm that there are a lot of potentials to deepen our relationship. This year is an opportunity for us to celebrate and show the strength of our relationship, and to harness all of those opportunities to better cooperate in all areas of our strategic partnership in the coming time.

What is your impression of the development and the dynamics in Vietnam today?

One of the most impressive things is to see Vietnam's recovery in 2022 after opening up from Covid 19. I believe Vietnam is going to be one of the fastest growing economies in this region, if not the world this year, amid many challenges internationally.

I can see that Vietnam's social economic development is happening really fast and that the government are focusing to continue that development, continue attracting investment. As Vietnam continues its important actions, we are here to support it. I think Vietnam's direction toward becoming a high-income country is a challenging ambition but can be achieved.

On the occasion of the upcoming 50th founding anniversary of the Vietnam - UK diplomatic relations (1973 - 2023), along with the establishment of the Vietnam - UK strategic partnership (2010-2022), what are our most impressive achievements in your opinion?

As I mentioned, this year is an opportunity for us to celebrate and show the strength of our relationship, and to harness all of those opportunities to better cooperate in all areas of our strategic partnership in the coming time.

The past years had proved that the UK and Vietnam can work together to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges as we support each other throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. And now we continue to work closely on global issues such as climate change, following Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to the United Nations Climate Change Summit – COP26 in Glasgow last year, where he made a historic commitment to net zero emissions. Vietnam and UK are also working toward the Equitable Energy Transition Program (JETP).

Another impressive achievement is the bilateral trade with the total trade in goods and services between the UK and Vietnam is now at £5.9 billion, up 12.4% year-on-year.

There are around 15,000 Vietnamese students currently in the UK with an increasing number applying to school in the UK. People-to-people diplomacy between the two countries has also been promoted in various fields. And with the recent visit of the Secretary of State for the Armed Forces of the UK Ministry of Defence to Vietnam's International Defence Exhibition 2022, as well as cooperation between the two countries in UN's peacekeeping force, UK is committed to be a trusted, reliable and long-term partner of Vietnam.

Vietnam - UK relationship is prospering and becoming increasingly important as we face the challenges of the next 50 years together. The UK and Vietnam are building the future together – and that's the main theme of our anniversary year. We will pay attention on education for the younger generation, trade, and sustainable development, which are the key factors to our future.

Aiming for a comprehensive strategic partnership

What will be the focus in future cooperation between the two countries? How can two countries work together to achieve the goal of net zero emissions?

We will work on issues in education, trade, and sustainable development. We want to build relationships between Vietnam and universities and schools in the UK

We also want to see our relationship on sustainability, climate and energy development, so we are just concluding a negotiation led by the UK and the EU on behalf of G7 and the Government of Vietnam.

For an energy transition partnership, this will support to develop green energy infrastructure in the years ahead and it's really ambitious plans to support economic growth that is green and sustainable.The UK ís already working closely together to help Vietnam to reach to the goal of net zero emissions. Renewable energy is in the center of Vietnam - UK cooperation. Many UK investors are ready to support Vietnam to develop this sector.

We are all expecting a declaration on the energy transition partnership from Brussels about the Energy Transition Partnership. This is a partnership where Vietnam is setting ambitious commitments and international partners are going to support Vietnam, including the UK with finance, with expertise and with developing industry for renewable energy. Vietnam has huge potential in the energy offshore in solar energy and that will all help to support the growing economy as Vietnam is rapidly industrializing.

What is your plan to renovate the Consul General's headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City with a vision of a modern financial center?

Our plan is to redevelop the Consul general building in Ho Chi Minh City, which has been there for a number of decades. We think this is a good moment to to redevelop it and are currently working on those plans and talking to the authorities about how we can do that. Hopefully, more details will be announced within our 50th founding anniversary.

In the near future, is there any potential to take the Vietnam-UK relationship to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership?

The UK and Vietnam has a strategic partnership which was established 12 years ago and which we renewed two years ago. This is a really strong framework for the relationship between the UK and Vietnam and it gives us all the potential we need to develop relationships in areas such as climate, energy, trade and defence, security and education.

I am satisfied with the results achieved over the past time. I believe our relationship is closer than ever, with bilateral relations at an unprecedented high level and a lot of potential for development in the coming years. I want to see the Vietnam-UK relationship reach a higher level.

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