London, 5 March 2008.  Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Nguyễn Tấn Dũng met in London today.  It was the first time the two leaders have met, and the meeting came at a crucial time in UK-Việt Nam relations when the two countries celebrate the 35th year of diplomatic relations.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the strengthening and deepening of Việt Nam/UK relations in a wide range of areas including politics, diplomacy, pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, economics, trade, investment, and training and education. The two sides pledged to enhance multifaceted cooperation between the two countries on the basis of a partnership for progress. 
Political, diplomatic and development cooperation
The two sides emphasized the importance of close and constructive political cooperation. The Prime Ministers discussed current international issues and welcomed the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding underlining the key elements of the bilateral relationship. With Việt Nam’s recent election to the UN Security Council, the two countries are now working together on issues central to global peace and security. The Prime Ministers discussed a number of issues on the United Nations Security Council agenda, as well as measures to jointly maximize the positive impact of globalisation while managing the negative consequences on both countries. 
The Prime Ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation and discussions in international and regional fora; reaffirmed Việt Nam’s support to the UK in accelerating cooperation with ASEAN, and vice versa, the UK’s support to Vietnam in enhancing comprehensive co-operation with the EU.
The Prime Ministers agreed on the urgent need for UN reform, to increase its effectiveness, building on the recommendations of the High Level Panel. As a pilot country for the “One UN” reform process, Việt Nam is again leading by example. Mr. Brown and Mr. Dũng also committed their governments to support a high-level conference in Việt Nam later this year on the “One UN” country pilots to push forward the global UN reform process.
The Prime Ministers agreed on the urgent need to tackle climate change globally and achieve a satisfactory agreement post-Kyoto, but also to work together on the urgent priority of adaptation in Việt Nam, as one of the countries likely to be most affected by climate change. The UK is supporting a regional study, based on the “Stern Review”, to improve understanding of the economic impacts of climate change in Việt Nam.
The Prime Ministers emphasised their countries’ joint efforts to tackle corruption. Prime Minister Brown welcomed Prime Minister Dũng’s announcement that Việt Nam will pilot the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative. The Prime Ministers agreed to work together to further good governance, accountability and rule of law issues.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed his admiration of Việt Nam’s achievement after 20 years of reforms and integration to the world, in particular, on the reduction in poverty from approximately 60% (1993) to 15% (2007) – the fastest reduction in recorded history.  The UK is helping to ensure more people are lifted out of poverty in Việt Nam by contributing at least £250 million in aid between 2006-2011. The UK is the EU’s biggest grant donor to Việt Nam.  Prime Minister Brown agreed that the UK would give £100 million directly to Việt Nam’s poverty reduction strategy up to 2011, as part of its total commitment of £250 million under DFID’s new Country Assistance Plan over the same period.
The Prime Ministers emphasised their determination to achieve all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – in Việt Nam and globally. Việt Nam is leading by example and has already achieved most MDGs, including by reducing extreme poverty by half.  By signing the Call to Action, they have committed their governments to work together in partnership with businesses, NGOs and others to make 2008 a turning point in the fight against global poverty.
Trade and Investment Co-operation
The Prime Ministers welcomed the strong development of trade and investment between the UK and Việt Nam.  The UK continues to be one of the largest European investors in Việt Nam, with FDI over US $1.5 billion. Việt Nam is one of the UK’s 17 priority markets around the world.  In 2007, bilateral trade was around US $1.7 billion, the highest yet. The Prime Ministers discussed ways to enhance trade and investment relations, to encourage and support effective business between enterprises of the two countries and to facilitate markets for products of both sides. Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng informed Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Vietnamese Government’s decision to grant licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank to establish 100% foreign-owned banks in Việt Nam in line with WTO commitments.
In the run up to and during Prime Minister Dũng’s visit, commercial contracts of over US $5 billion have been agreed or progressed.  These include business for UK companies such as BP, International Power, Salamander, Premier Oil, Mott McDonald, Tesco, SOCO and BHP Billiton.
Vocational and Education Cooperation
More effective education links have led to an increase in the number of students from Việt Nam studying in the UK from around 2000 in 2002 to more than 6,000 today. The Prime Ministers welcomed the signature of a country to country agreement fostering international exchanges and capacity building in education.  Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng informed Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the Vietnamese Government’s decision to permit the establishment of the Apollo University in Việt Nam in association with University of London to provide science and technology training.
In Vocational Education and Training and in Higher Education, the British Prime Minister’s Second Initiative will effectively support bilateral institutional partnerships, with a view to developing long term relationships.
In secondary education, the Prime Ministers agreed to strengthen co-operation at the policy, local authority, school leadership, and teacher levels. Over the next three years, between 40 and 60 new school links between UK and Việt Nam will be established.  The Prime Ministers welcomed the agreement that seven leading research universities will support the Vietnamese government’s objective of improving university level education through increasing Vietnamese lecturers studying PhDs in the UK.
The Prime Ministers agreed joint efforts to help raise the standard of English language in Việt Nam. The Prime Ministers also agreed to improve teacher training, with a three-year programme focussed on improving the skills of the existing 6,500 primary school English language teachers in Việt Nam, and supporting the training of 13,000 new teachers needed in preparation for English teaching in primary schools.
In primary education, the UK agreed to continue to support Việt Nam improve education access and quality teaching for disadvantaged children.  The UK provides over £8 million per year for the training of 50,000 primary teachers, the building of 14,000 classrooms and providing over 1 million poor children with textbooks.
Cooperation on migration, organized crime and people smuggling
The Prime Ministers emphasized the importance of facilitating and encouraging legal migration to increase business, education and tourism ties between the two countries.
In parallel, the Prime Ministers pledged that Việt Nam and the UK will increase the already strong joint work to minimize the harm caused to both countries by illegal migration, trafficking, people smuggling and organized crime. The Prime Ministers agreed to review progress on the MoU on migration issues and then extend it for further five years.  The Prime Ministers instructed the relevant agencies to work in detail and sign the agreement on the UK package of further measures to combat illegal migration.
The Prime Ministers also agreed to launch negotiations on a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty which would facilitate the formal exchange of evidence relating to criminal investigations and proceedings, with a view to increasing the number of serious offenders brought to trial as a result of cooperation between the two countries.
The Prime Ministers agreed that Việt Nam and the UK would facilitate urgent signature of a Prisoner Transfer Agreement to allow prisoners to serve their sentences in their home communities.
The two Prime Ministers warmly appreciated the opportunity Prime Minister Dũng’s visit to the United Kingdom had provided to make real progress on issues of shared importance. They undertook to ensure that such substantial, constructive and high level dialogue continued for mutual interests, contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and in the world.