Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh witnesses the signing of a US$400 million contract between Vietjet Air and Rolls-Royce and many other cooperation between Vietnam and the UK. Photo: VNA

The signing ceremony was also attended by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

The documents span a wide range of cooperation areas, from commerce, agriculture, and energy to health care, education, training, environmental protection, and sports.

Among them were a US$400 million contract between Vietjet Air and Rolls-Royce to provide engines and engine services for wide-body aircraft, and a US$300 million sustainable development and climate change response program between HD Bank and Affinity Equity Partners.

EMG Education and Pearson Education inked a Memorandum of Understanding on comprehensive educational cooperation, while Vingroup and Raphael Labs penned an agreement on cooperation, development, investment, testing and technology transfer for the production of COVID-19 drugs and other respiratory diseases.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is in the UK for a visit and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26), witnessed the signing of these documents.

Earlier the same day, PM Pham met with Vietnamese community in the UK.

Representatives from the community expressed hope that the Vietnamese Government will continue to creating favorable conditions for them to make contributions in brainpower and resources to the homeland's development.

PM Chinh affirmed that the about 100,000-strong Vietnamese community in the UK has helped foster the friendship and cooperation between Viet Nam and the UK.

The Government leader hailed the Vietnamese community in the UK for promoting solidarity and well integrating into the host country’s society despite impacts of COVID-19. The Party and State share the difficulties that the community has faced amid the pandemic, he stated.

He said he hopes overseas Vietnamese  in the UK will strengthen their solidarity to overcome difficulties, while abiding by the law of the host country and promoting the image of the nation and people of Viet Nam to foreign friends, thus contributing to the development of the homeland.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh witnesses the handing over of presents from Vietnamese community in the UK to the homeland for COVID-19 fight

Briefing the community on the situation in Viet Nam and the country’s external policies, the PM underscored that the Party and State always pay great attention to and consider overseas Vietnamese an indispensable part of the nation and a resource of the country, as well as an important factor contributing to the partnership and friendship between Viet Nam and other countries.

Any Vietnamese, living inside or outside the country, is treated equally in the same way, he stressed.