Professor Patrick Callaghan, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor, London South Bank University. Photo: Photo courtesy of Professor Patrick Callaghan

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Callaghan stressed that the relationship between Vietnam and the UK is now thriving as seen from the photo exhibition on 50 years of the Vietnam-UK relations held at LSBU on April 27.

The professor pointed out that bilateral trade now largely depends on goods, but it can be extended into other areas in the service industry which the UK is very strong at.

He suggested the two countries boost their partnership through cooperation in science and education, including higher education, further education and even secondary education.

Callaghan said the two countries’ universities, including LSBU, can collaborate in such key areas as transnational education, doctoral degree training, engineering, health and social care research.

Speaking of cooperation between LSBU and Vietnam, he said the number of Vietnamese students choosing to study at LSBU, especially at the LSBU Business School, has greatly increased in recent years.

The LSBU Business School considers Vietnam a priority market in such areas as student recruitment, transnational education, research and knowledge transfer, Callaghan said, adding the university is now in discussion with Vietnamese higher education institutions for collaboration in transnational education, student exchange and research.

President’s visit – a sign of Vietnam-UK excellent friendly relations

Chairman of the Vietnam-UK Network (VUKN) Mark Kent. Photo: VNA

In another interview with the VNA, Chairman of the Vietnam-UK Network (VUKN) Mark Kent said President Vo Van Thuong’s visit to the UK to attend the coronation of King Charles III is another sign of the excellent friendly high-level relations between the two countries at such an auspicious time.

Kent, who worked as British Ambassador to Vietnam in the 2007-2010 tenure, pointed to potential for a modern, forward looking collaborative relationship between the two countries.

Kent said he was aware that there was scope for more cooperation in trade, investment, education, science and technology and response to global challenges like climate change as Vietnam was vulnerable to flooding from rising sea levels.

He also found potential for further people-to- people exchanges, in particular tourism, given many splendid destinations throughout Vietnam, even though at that time there were no direct flights between Vietnam and the UK.

The VUKN Chairman said the relations between the UK and Vietnam have changed dramatically since 2010, adding that the Strategic Partnership established in 2010 was renewed in 2020, and the bilateral relationship is growing stronger, deeper and wider than ever before.

The UK is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe. Photo: VNA

The UK is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe. The two sides officially signed a Free Trade Agreement in December 2020 on the principle of inheriting the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) with necessary adjustments to ensure compliance with the framework of bilateral trade between Vietnam and the UK, Nhan dan (People) newspaper said.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK made significant contributions to COVAX Facility with the vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The UK donated millions of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam through both bilateral channels and COVAX Facility./.

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