Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, Thai Thanh Quy, visits London, begins work trip in the United Kingdom

After concluding the work program in the Netherlands, on the afternoon of June 11 (local time), the Nghe An Provincial Delegation led by Mr. Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Central Party Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, and Head of the Provincial Delegation to National Assembly arrived in London, beginning their visit and work trip in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom).
The delegation included: Mr. Le Duc Cuong - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial Organizational Commission; Major General Bui Quang Thanh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Provincial Police; Mr. Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Member of the Provincial Party Committee's Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Mr. Bui Dinh Long - Member of the Provincial Party Committee's Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Directors of Departments: Planning and Investment, Finance, Transportation, Agriculture and Rural Development, Foreign Affairs.

With a GDP of 3,159 billion USD in 2023, the United Kingdom is the world's 6th largest economy, composed of four economies: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
It is one of the most globalized economies in the world, with a policy of free trade and anti-protectionism. London is one of the most important financial centers in the world, along with New York and Tokyo.
The key economic sectors of the United Kingdom include: banking, finance, insurance, education and training, steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, coal mining, chemical industries, electronics, telecommunications, high technology, textiles, garments, etc.
Established in 1973, the relationship between Vietnam and the United Kingdom has developed strongly. In March 2008, the leaders of the two countries issued a Joint Statement affirming to promote bilateral relations in a deeper, more effective, and stable manner towards a “Partnership for Development”.
In September 2010, the two countries signed a Joint Declaration on the establishment of the Vietnam-United Kingdom Strategic Partnership. In September 2020, the two sides issued a new Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership with 7 priority cooperation areas and affirmed their commitment to elevating the relationship over the next 10 years.
Vietnam and the United Kingdom officially signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on December 29, 2020, based on the principles of inheriting the EVFTA (the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union), with necessary adjustments to ensure compatibility with the bilateral trade framework after the United Kingdom left the European Union (Brexit).
Currently, the United Kingdom is Vietnam's 3rd largest trading partner in the European market, the 9th largest importer of Vietnamese goods in the world, and has officially recognized Vietnam's market economy status.
In 2023, the United Kingdom became the 12th member and the first European country to sign the agreement to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Vietnam is a member.
This presents a great opportunity to continue developing bilateral trade between the two countries. During the working program of the 7th session (which will resume from June 18 to June 28), the 15th National Assembly will consider ratifying the CPTPP accession document of the United Kingdom.

However, cooperation between Nghe An Province and its partners in the United Kingdom is still quite modest. The province currently has two FDI projects from British investors with a total registered investment of 4.04 million USD. Specifically: the Premium Fashion Vietnam project in the design and garment production sector and the Apollo International English Center project (Branch 1) under the Nghe An branch of the Apollo Vietnam Education and Training Organization in the education sector.
In terms of trade, in 2023, export turnover to the United Kingdom market reached 12.5 million USD. Import turnover from the United Kingdom market reached 271 thousand USD.

In the first quarter of 2024, export turnover to the United Kingdom market reached 5.3 million USD. Major export items included: textiles, footwear, steel sheets, processed fruits, and fruit juices,... Major import items included: machinery, production materials, chemicals...
Therefore, this work trip of Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Thai Thanh Quy and the delegation aims to introduce and promote the potential and strengths of the province and seek investment opportunities through meetings with partners in the United Kingdom, such as: the Newhaven City Government, the Newhaven Chamber of Commerce, the West London Chamber of Commerce;…
Upon arriving in the capital city of London, the Nghe An Provincial Delegation led by Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Thai Thanh Quy visited and worked at the Vietnamese Embassy.

Ms. To Minh Thu - Chargé d'Affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy and the staff of the Embassy expressed their pleasure in welcoming the delegation and introduced the activities of the Embassy and the situation of the Vietnamese community in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee Thai Thanh Quy thanked the leaders and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom for their warm welcome and for their thorough preparation for the work trip of the Nghe An delegation. He shared that although geographically distant, with different histories and political systems, the United Kingdom is not too unfamiliar to many generations of Vietnamese people. Mentioning the United Kingdom, many people immediately think of the English Premier League, studying in the United Kingdom, English language training programs, and the United Kingdom's ODA programs...
Providing information about the socio-economic situation, development orientations, and cooperation status with the United Kingdom, the head of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee expressed the hope that the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom would be interested in and support Nghe An Province in developing cooperative relationships with British partners.
The focus is on considering and introducing suitable localities with many similarities to exchange and implement friendly, economic cooperation activities with Nghe An Province; connecting with large British investors and enterprises with strengths in areas where the province is focusing on attracting investment and has many potentials and advantages, such as: high-tech agriculture, supporting industries, mechanical engineering, agricultural product processing, tourism, education and training,...

Nghe An also hopes to access official development assistance (ODA) and NGO grants in the fields of agriculture and rural development combined with poverty reduction, such as: developing essential rural infrastructure for the poor (rural transportation, drinking water supply, schools, health stations,...); developing irrigation works combined with disaster prevention and mitigation; creating jobs combined with sustainable poverty reduction.
Congratulating Nghe An on its development achievements, Ms. To Minh Thu expressed readiness to support the province in accessing British partners and investors.