(VOVworld) - Vietnam and the UK have released a joint statement after a 2 day visit to the UK by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The statement said both sides agree to exchange visits of high ranking delegations to implement this year’s Strategic Partnership Action Plan. They applauded the leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the fight against corruption, in which the UK is the top donor to Vietnam. Both sides voiced their full support for the early approval of the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). They continued to support efforts to build an ASEAN of peace, stability, cooperation and friendship. They also stressed the need to ensure free maritime navigation in the East Sea and to settle disputes by peaceful means based on the international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Both sides emphasized the importance of the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties signed in 2002 and welcomed steps towards finalizing the Code of Conducts between parties concerned in the East Sea.

Vietnam and Britain pledged to raise bilateral trade to 4 billion USD and British investment in Vietnam to 3 billion USD this year. They agreed to focus on key areas such as assisting Vietnam achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and cope with climate change. Both sides noted with satisfaction the increased defence ties between the two countries, reflected in the intention to open a Vietnam office of national defence attaché in London and the first visit to Vietnam by a British deputy defence minister.

Earlier, Party leader Trong laid a wreath to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh at the place where he used to work during his time overseas for national salvation. On the same day, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh met with Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire. Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and British Minister for International Development Alan Ducan signed the first Memorandum of Understanding on Public-Private-Partnership cooperation.