The visit aims to further develop parliamentary links between the UK Parliament and the Vietnam National Assembly and boost bilateral cooperation in trade and investment in the context of Vietnam's imminent entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Mr Griffiths will meet with Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Van Yeu, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and representatives of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Hanoi Business Association. He will participate in roundtable discussions with Vietnamese legislators to look at the legislative body’s overseeing function and its role in the fight against corruption.

The MP will also talk to students at the Institute of International Relations about the life of an MP and launch the Vietnamese translation of a booklet published by the British Foreign Office, entitled The UK System of Government.

He will then fly to HCM City where he is scheduled to meet municipal authorities, address the British Business Group of Vietnam and meet representatives of the British oil and gas industry and the financial services sector.