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The Hanoitimes – Hanoi hopes trade link will support its export-driven economy while London is trying to secure trade deals ahead of the transition period after Brexit.

Vietnam and the UK have agreed refresh and strengthen their strategic partnership and set the framework for forging ahead in the next decade.

Vietnam and the UK look to forge ahead the partnership in the next decade. Photo: MOFA

The two sides adopted a joint declaration at a meeting between Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on September 30 during the British diplomat’s visit to Hanoi, the first by a European politician to Vietnam since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The declaration, which marks a milestone of 10 years of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership, outlines the UK and Vietnam’s commitment to further strengthening the bilateral partnership.

It includes (1) deepening bilateral trade and investment, and pursuing more open trade through global and regional economic integration; (2) co-operating to support sustainable economic growth, and to combat the urgent challenges presented by climate change; (3) working together on shared security challenges through peace-keeping operations, military healthcare and training and maritime security; (4) enhancing ties in education, vocational training, higher education, particularly in the field of science and technology; (5) enhancing bilateral cooperation in defense and security and to combat serious and organized crime; (6) promoting people-to-people links, equal rights, including promoting gender equality and tackling modern slavery; and (7) committing to a closer coordination through multilateral fora, including the United Nations and within the framework of ASEAN.

Trade deal dominates the visit

To prepare for partnership in the next 10 years, the two sides highlighted the importance of a bilateral trade agreement that dominates the talks between UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and his counterpart Pham Binh Minh, and between the UK Foreign Secretary and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on September 30.

Mr. Phuc said “Vietnam considers the UK a major trading partner in Europe and in the world”. He noted that a free trade deal with Britain, once it takes effect, would “help both countries boost economic recovery in post Covid-19 period.”

In reality, both sides are looking to strengthen trade ties. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect in August, but Brexit leaves the UK out of that agreement.

“We have secured Vietnam’s public support for the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Mr. Raab wrote on Twitter. “This is a significant step in taking the UK-Vietnam economic relationship to the next level, and demonstrating the U.K.’s commitment and value to the region.”

The UK attempts to secure trade deals ahead of the ending of a transition period in December for Brexit from the European Union, its closest trading partner, while Vietnam hopes the trade link will help its post-pandemic economic recovery.

In 2019, the two-way trade hit US$6.6 billion while British investment in Vietnam reached US$3.7 billion.

Mr. Raab stressed the importance of Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Vietnam, the only country in Southeast Asia to post economic growth this year as forecast by ADB, has signed more than a dozen free trade agreements, including one with the European Union and an 11-country CPTPP deal that slashes tariffs across much of the Asia-Pacific.

During the Vietnam visit, Mr. Raab said his country is committed to working with the region on issues like maritime security — a likely reference to the disputed South China Sea. He also held a conference call with ASEAN foreign ministers while in Hanoi.

The Hanoitimes – The UK looks to focus on trade with the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam.

As a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam is willing to share its experience on CPTPP accession with the UK, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang. Photo: MOFA

At the ministry’s regular press conference on September 17, the spokesperson stressed that the CPTPP is a high-quality free trade agreement with comprehensive commitments to promoting economic-trade cooperation among member countries and trade liberalization towards open and rules-based trade in the region.

She underlined that CPTPP member countries have adopted procedures for joining the pact, and economies interested in the pact should meet its high standards and follow admission process.

Earlier, on September 9, the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) announced that the UK has taken a major step in the process of joining CPTPP.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, alongside the current chair of the CPTPP Commission, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Márquez, opened discussions between senior UK trade officials and Chief Negotiators from all 11 members of the Partnership to discuss potential UK’s incorporation into the deal.

This is the first time the UK has met with Chief Negotiators from all 11 members of the Partnership to discuss UK admission, and the first time CPTPP members have had such a discussion with a country seeking membership since the Partnership was created in 2018.

The UK has held preparatory conversations with all CPTPP members. If the UK decides to apply, it will enter into a formal accession negotiation with all member states.

This meeting follows major progress in negotiations between the UK and Japan, the beginning of negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, and the resumption of negotiations with Canada, as the UK looks to focus on trade with the dynamic Asia-Pacific region. CPTPP membership also provides an opportunity to expand trade links with key partners in the Americas.

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement among Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Once fully implemented, the 11 countries will form a trading bloc representing 495 million consumers and 13.5% of global GDP, according to the Canadian government. If the UK were to join, that share of global GDP would rise to about 16%.

The UK left the European Union early this year but the main terms of its membership remain in place during a transition period until the end of this year. Both the UK and EU hope to negotiate a new free trade deal between them by the end of the year, according to Reuters.

On August 6, the CPTPP Commission’s third meeting ended with the approval of a ministerial joint statement reiterating the members’ commitment to back trade liberalization, and multilateral trade. The next meeting of the CPTPP Commission is scheduled for 2021 in Japan.

The Hanoitimes – Both Vietnam and the UK are looking for a trade deal after Brexit.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is scheduled to visit Vietnam from September 29 – 30 to hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh, with a trade deal at the top of the agenda ahead of the ending of the transition period for Britain’s exit from the European Union this year, Nikkei Asia reported.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to seek a trade deal with Vietnam in two-day visit. Photo: Reuters.

Britain hopes to strengthen economic ties with Asia-Pacific countries and expand trade beyond Europe after Brexit.

Vietnam approved a free trade deal with the EU in June and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement came into effect in August. Without a new bilateral trade deal with Vietnam, Britain faces higher tariffs from January 2020.

Additionally, Britain is also seeking to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-member multilateral trade pact that Vietnam is a member of.

After reaching an economic partnership agreement with Japan earlier this month, UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss told Nikkei that London would accelerate talks with CPTPP members. “We have not yet confirmed our timeline for formal application, but any final application decision we make will depend on the progress of bilateral negotiations with CPTPP members,” she said.

The UK is set to engage in individual closed-door meetings with the framework’s existing members, which include Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Brunei.

Vietnam is also keen to push an FTA with the UK as Covid-19 weighs on the export-driven economy. For this year, the country targets an economic growth of 2.5%, significantly lower than the previous forecast of 5% in May before a resurgence of the virus in July.

The two foreign ministers will be discussing collaboration in the fight against Covid-19. On the security front, Mr. Raab is expected to support efforts in maintaining peace, security and stability, as well as respect for international law in the South China Sea, where several countries have made territorial claims.

Vietnam and the UK set up diplomatic relations in September 1973 and upgraded their ties to Strategic Partnership in 2010.

Apart from the UK, Vietnam is also hoping for other trade deals, including with the US.

Leaders of many countries have extended their congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong over his re-election as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the 13th tenure.

The Hanoitimes – The declaration is believed to be more effective only when having a transparent mechanism that is more trustworthy than the current process.

The Government Inspectorate of Vietnam has asked high-ranking officials to make assets declaration within March as part of efforts to curb corruption.

Assets declaration is believed one of Vietnam’s tools against corruption. Source: Tien Phong

State employees holding the post of deputy department and higher, police and army officers, candidates for the National Assembly and the People Council are subject to the assets declaration.

The declaration covers kinds of assets, flows of assets, and origin of assets. Results of the declaration would be public in the agencies they work for or at the bodies’ meetings.

Assets declaration is believed one of Vietnam’s tools to curb corruption among state cadres. Authorized agencies likely check randomly part of the assets to see if the declaration is trustworthy, according to Dr Dinh Van Minh, head of the Government Inspectorate’s Legal Department.

Francesco Checchi, a regional anti-corruption advisor of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in South East Asia and the Pacific, told Hanoitimes that Vietnam should build a mechanism that closely monitors the asset declaration among senior civil servants to make the country’s efforts against corruption more effective.

“A transparent mechanism will be an effective tool to make the declaration more trustworthy than the process at the present,” Francesco Checchi said.

A lack of specific analysis on conflict of interest together with unsubstantial assets declaration, and loose supervision challenges Vietnam’s anti-corruption process, he noted.

Francesco Checchi recommended that Vietnam should use different tools to fight corruption, especially encouraging the participation of the whole society.

Vietnam should facilitate and promote the participation of different sectors, mostly the private sector and the press in implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption , mainly when it comes to the prevention and recovery of stolen assets, the advisor emphasized.

“Civil servants should be required to declare more items, namely loans and debts when building or buying homes, and make a report on the unclear additional income of opaque origin as well as accountability,” he noted.