The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform of the UK, John Hutton, made the remark during a press briefing in Hanoi on June 3 after two days of working with the Vietnamese Government officials, ministries and agencies.

Mr. Hutton said the current difficulties are only temporary and UK investors have medium and long-term visions for Vietnam rather than short-term investment.

The secretary recommended that Vietnam focus on curbing increasing inflation in its efforts to resolve the difficulties and the UK is willing to help Vietnam in the issue.

Regarding cooperation between Vietnam and the UK in the future, the secretary said the UK gives priority to energy, finance, banking and insurance projects.

Importance will also be placed on education cooperation programmes, as the development of investment and trade relations rely on the training of human resources in Vietnam.