“The Vietnamese government should not attract investment at any cost and should never sacrifice the future for the present” – said British Ambassador Mark Kent

The global economic recession will not unduly impact bilateral ties with Vietnam, because the UK is focused on the nation’s long-term potentials, says British Ambassador Mark Kent.

They were referring to many high-level bilateral visits which have taken place between the two countries this year.

“I only realized how much has been done when I was back. Some of them [other British ambassadors] have had a year of no ministerial visits,” Kent said in an exclusive interview with Thanh Nien Daily.

In March, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung paid his first-ever visit to the UK where he and his British counterpart Gordon Brown agreed to work together on five priority areas: trade and investment; development; international issues including climate change; education; and tackling illegal migration and organized crime.

Six months later, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, also called on Vietnam and met with state and government leaders.

Many other ministerial visits have also occurred between the two countries over the past year.

“In terms of the comparative priorities, Vietnam is up there,” Kent said.

“Vietnam, in terms of international cooperation, international relations, if you allow me to use a football term, is now in the Premier League.”

Long term relationship

Vietnam and the UK in September marked the 35^th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Last weekend, a trade delegation of the North West International Trade Team of UK Trade & Investment, based in Manchester, began its visit to Vietnam to sound out business opportunities.

The delegation comprised British companies in the sectors of electronics, finance, and business services, engineering, printing and packaging.

The visit happened in the context of the world economic turbulence, amidst fears the global recession would hurt Vietnam.

Mark Kent, who will mark one year as the British envoy to Vietnam next month, acknowledged that British companies are facing difficulties, but was not worried the global economic situation would affect bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

“We are going to get through a difficult period in the world economy; that’s clear and it’s going to last at least several months, possibly longer, until we come out of this. But it’s just a fact that we have to deal with,” Kent told Thanh Nien Daily.

“British companies, and certain British companies in Vietnam, tend to take a long-term view, and in the long term clearly this country has got enormous potentials,” Kent said.

“It’s the kind of country which is dynamic and growing and has a young workforce where we should be looking over the long-term to trade.

“Trade and investment is a number one shared priority between the UK and Vietnam. As friends, as partners, you go through the good time and you go through the more difficult times together,” he said.

In 2007, UK exports to Vietnam increased by 14 percent over 2006. The value of UK investments in Vietnam is approximately $1.4 billion, making the UK one of the largest EU investors in the market.

But Kent also pointed out three areas of the Vietnamese economy which would be indirectly affected by the global economic fallout.

Vietnamese exporters would be hurt as there is less demand in foreign markets which are caught in the throes of an economic recession, he said.

There would be also less foreign direct investment and remittances pumped into the country, he said.

“In the current climate, the best way for Vietnam to continue to develop, to continue to grow, is to continue to implement reform,” he said.

“This is particularly important at the time when there is going to be less investment and so there are going to be more people tracing that investment, and you need to make sure your destination is the most attractive.”

“The other thing that would be very beneficial to Vietnam is to have clear and transparent economic data to have a clear picture of what’s happening in the economy in real time for investors. So you don’t get the situations where rumors arise which result in the loss of domestic confidence or panic buying.”

In April, Vietnamese people, particularly those in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, rushed to buy rice in the wake of false rumors on the rice shortage. The buying fever then sent rice flying off the shelves and its prices skyrocketing. In May and August, fabricated information on fresh fuel price hikes also saw people scurrying to gas stations in HCMC to fill up.

Climate change and the environment

The UK will also support Vietnam to cope with climate change and rising sea levels, Kent said.

“There’s been work which is financed by UK, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank on a regional study of how climate change would affect the economies of the South East Asian region.

“We will be discussing [this issue] with the Vietnamese government at the Consultative Group which is taking place next month,” he said.

“It will be an important element on the agenda.”

Kent said he thought the sea level rise was quite significant and would affect Vietnam materially, especially the Mekong Delta region.

According to the World Bank’s projections, Vietnam, especially the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta areas, would be among five countries most seriously affected by climate change and sea level rise.

The bank’s forecast also said in the case that sea levels rise by one meter, ten percent of the country’s population, now estimated at 84 million, would be affected and 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) would be lost.

Asked about recent high-profile scandals in which several companies have been caught polluting the environment by discharging wastewater directly into the rivers, Kent said the Vietnamese government should not attract investment at any cost and should never sacrifice the future for the present.

“The environment is very important and I don’t think Vietnam should accept that any company wants to come here because they think they can get away with polluting the air in the way which they wouldn’t in their own countries,” Kent said.

“I’ll give the same message to British companies [in Vietnam].”

Passing the ball

In order to bolster bilateral cultural exchanges, Kent said one thing he is keen on is to look at people-to-people culture.

“It is better to have culture exchanges which reflect the moment we are in, for example, football.” he said.

Kent said when he first came to Vietnam, he was very surprised to learn that most Vietnamese people knew English football, the Premier League, very well.

“Most [Vietnamese] people here like Manchester United.”

Kent said when he was in the UK, he went to Manchester United and asked them: “What about Vietnam?” and was told that the club had its highest proportion of football supporters in Vietnam, more than anywhere else in the world.

Although he is an Arsenal fan, Kent said one of the things he hoped to do before leaving was to have Manchester United come to Vietnam.

“I think sport is a great cultural exchange,” Kent said, adding that he was also trying to promote more exchanges in popular art.

Reported by An Dien