UK environment secretary in Vietnam to boost cooperation

Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, met her Vietnamese counterpart Le Minh Hoan Wednesday to discuss bilateral trade in agriculture, food and beverages, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize cooperation on the U.K.'s Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF) in Vietnam.

The BLF focuses on encouraging sustainable livelihoods and agriculture models, reducing poverty, promoting ecotourism, and tackling the illegal wildlife trade. 

"The Fund will support six vital biodiversity hotspots across the globe, which are so threatened by climate change," Coffey said. "In Vietnam, it will help support sustainable livelihoods while protecting nature across the Lower Mekong."

U.K. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey (R, 3rd) and Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan (R, 6th) after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize cooperation on the U.K.’s Biodiverse Landscapes Fund in Hanoi, April 12, 2023. Photo by the U.K. Embassy in Vietnam

The U.K. has invested £17.8 million (US$22.23 million) in seven official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam on forestry and carbon market, sustainable aquaculture practices, sustainable livelihood models, reducing plastic pollution, protecting biodiversity and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which will help Vietnam achieve its net zero emissions commitment by 2050.

Coffey also visited the Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Ninh Binh Province, the base of Save Vietnam's Wildlife – a local non-governmental organization working to champion the recovery of threatened species in Vietnam.

A hawk rescued from traffickers is released at Cuc Phuong National Park, March 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Save Vietnam's Wildlife was awarded £1 million by the U.K. Government in 2022 for their project to dismantle the illegal pangolin trade in Vietnam. 

The U.K. is Vietnam's third largest commerce partner in Europe, after Germany and the Netherlands.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $6.83 billion last year, a 3.4% increase against 2021, according to Vietnam Customs. The U.K. is also the 9th largest export market for Vietnam and has 485 FDI projects in the country worth around $4.2 billion.