On February 22, 2023, the Honorary Chair, Jonathan Vam-Tam, Chair, Nguyen Huan, Vice Chair, Que Anh Dang, and Treasurer, Van Huynh, attended the reception hosted by the UK Minister for Indo-Pacific, the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP at the Locarno Suite, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London to launch celebrations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and Viet Nam.
In her speech, she mentioned that the relationship between Great Britain and Vietnam can be traced back to 1793, when Danang was an important stop marking the route to Beijing taken by the George Macartney mission to China and she also emphasised the recognisable role of Vietnam in the UK’s partnerships with the Indo-Pacific region nowadays as part of the ‘Global Britain’ strategy.
The Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Mr Bui Thanh Son, also delivered a video speech highlighting many significant milestones in the past 50 years and charting the way forward to stronger relationships in the next 50 years and beyond.
Other highlights of the evening included:
– The introduction of the UK Prime Minister’s new trade envoy to Vietnam.
– In all speeches, particularly the speech of the Vietnamese Ambassador, HE Mr Nguyen Hoang Long, education and science partnerships were mentioned as crucial elements that build people-to-people connectivity and long-lasting ties between the two countries.
– A number of British and Vietnamese senior diplomats, politicians, businesses and NGOs attend the reception.
This is an excellent networking opportunity for VIS UK&Ireland to increase the visibility of our society. Several guests at the reception have agreed to participate in the coming VIS Coffee Talks.
