Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held phone talks on 27 October with the UK’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is now Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Source: VNA)

Blair spoke highly of Viet Nam’s achievements in the COVID-19 fight and being among the few economies with positive growth in 2020.

He stressed the role of digital transformation and technology application in combating COVID-19, mentioning the possibility of working with the US’ Oracle group to carry out a digital healthcare management system in Vietnam in response to the pandemic.

Hailing Viet Nam’s continually improved investment and business climate, Blair held that with what it has obtained in the COVID-19 fight and the entry into force of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the country is emerging as a magnet for the global FDI flow.

He also expressed his readiness to assist Viet Nam in attracting high-quality investment in the time ahead.

For his part, Minh appreciated the former PM’s contributions to the two countries’ relations and provision of policy advice for Viet Nam in some areas like FDI attraction and implementation of the public-private partnership model.

Amid the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, Vietnam will promote its cooperation with international partners in the coronavirus prevention and control, especially vaccine and medicine development, production, and distribution, he emphasised.

The Deputy PM affirmed that attracting high-quality foreign investment and cooperating in technological development are among Viet Nam’s priorities in socio-economic development in the time ahead.

He voiced his hope that the two sides will enhance collaboration in attracting high-quality foreign investment, including FDI projects applying high technology, and setting up innovation and R&D centres that are connected with Vietnamese businesses via human resources training and support industry facilitation.

Source: VNA