Mr Hai led a high-level Vietnamese government delegation to meet with senior leaders of the UK parliament and government and leading economic groups on October 20 as part of the official visit to the UK.

The Deputy PM met with the leader of the Liberal Democrats party, Nick Clegg, at the UK Parliament and briefed him on Vietnam’s achievements, affirming that Vietnam wants to strengthen its relations with European countries, especially the UK. Mr Hai said he hopes the Liberal Democrats will support a policy of comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, development, education and training, migration and fighting organized crime.

Deputy Prime Minister Hai also met with Member of Parliament Ben Chapman and the MP group of UK-Vietnam friendship and talked with Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Peter Mandelson.

The UK leaders proposed specific steps to build Vietnam-UK ties into a partnership for development.

The UK has become one of Vietnam’s leading economic partners. Bilateral trade has grown consecutively by 15-20 percent per year and hit more than US$2 billion in 2008.

The two sides discussed ways to increase bilateral trade and British investment in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese delegation mentioned some areas where Vietnam needs more assistance from the UK such as constructing financial institutions and legal frameworks, and training high-skilled human resources for trade, securities, finance, banking and assurance.