Garments are readied for export at a factory in Hanoi.

It is vital for the UK and Vietnam not to retreat into nationalism and protectionism in their attempts to surmount the global financial crisis, says UK Foreign Minister David Miliband.

The UK Foreign Minister was responding to queries from Vietnamese citizens submitted through an Internet project called Yoosk (www.yoosk.vn). The project, which enables Vietnamese people to send their questions to British public figures, attracted over 100 questions and Miliband’s answers appeared Monday at: http://www.yoosk.vn/ukvn/celebrity/19 /David_Miliband.aspx.

“Both the UK and Vietnam depend on trade for our prosperity, so we have a shared interest in fighting any protectionist tendencies. It is important that we follow these principles in order for us to get through the current crisis and emerge ready to prosper again,” Miliband said.

“Vietnam is, and will continue to be, an important trading partner for the UK,” he said.

At another interview with Thanh Nien Daily in January, Gareth Thomas, Minister of State, UK Trade and Investment and Department for International Development, had also said British companies were not going to pull out of Vietnam.

British businesses not yet based in Vietnam are still going to be trying to set up office in Vietnam over the next 12 months, he added.

The UK is the third largest European investor in Vietnam. In the first nine months of 2008, Vietnam imported British goods worth £117.9 million (US$166,640), a year-on-year increase of 50 percent, while Vietnam’s exports to the UK were up 17 percent over the same period.

Miliband also said Vietnam has taken on the role of lead coordinator for the Free Trade Agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU).

He acknowledged progress to date has been slower than hoped but Trade Ministers on both sides were working for an agreement that will spur trade and investment between the two regions.

Earlier, Gareth Thomas also revealed plans to go to Brussels and argue for Europe to implement free trade agreements with individual economies in the ASEAN like Vietnam or Singapore before signing similar deals with the whole region.

Monitoring aid

Miliband also said that after the recent high-profile graft case in which Japanese businessmen had allegedly bribed Vietnamese officials to secure contracts for a major road highway project, the UK was looking to explore with the Japanese joint initiatives to strengthen the management of official development assistance (ODA) provided to Vietnam.

“Corruption is an issue the UK takes very seriously - we have a zero tolerance approach to the misuse of UK funds,” he said.

“We have a risk and control framework in place to ensure funds are spent as intended, including risk assessment and internal and external audit reviews of all our aid programs.”

In Vietnam, UK anti-corruption initiatives include providing input to the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and dialogue with the government on the role of the media, he said.

Reported by Dang Yen Dang