Vietnam requests more Covid vaccine support from UK

The two leaders met Monday on the sidelines of the Vietnamese delegation's participation in the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) hosted by the U.K., the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

In early August, the U.K. Embassy in Hanoi handed over 415,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Vietnam’s Health Ministry. This was part of the U.K. government’s pledge to Vietnam during a donation drive to deliver nine million vaccine doses to countries around the world.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (L) and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss meet in Glasgow, November 1, 2021. Photo courtesy of Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Son and Truss discussed several other key issues including Vietnam's climate change mitigation pledges. The foreign minister affirmed that Vietnam is strongly committed to contribute to the global climate crisis response.

Hanoi was ready to facilitate London’s efforts to strengthen substantive cooperation with ASEAN, and to support and share experiences with the U.K. in negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The U.K. has expressed its intention to join CPTPP in February, "in a major push to expand and deepen the country's trade links with the Asia-Pacific region after leaving the European Union."

The two leaders stressed the importance of upholding international law, ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, security and peace in the South China Sea.

They agreed that the two countries will work closely on commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the U.K. (1973 - 2023).