For the first time, visitors to the site www.yoosk.vn/ukvn were invited to post questions to the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

All types of issues were addressed, from how the financial crisis has affected the relationship between Vietnam and the UK, to his personal thoughts on US President Barack Obama.

Concerning a question on corruption, Miliband said, ‘Corruption is an issue the UK takes very seriously - we have a zero tolerance approach to the misuse of UK funds. 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.’

He added that in Vietnam, UK anti-corruption initiatives include providing input to the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and dialogue with the Vietnamese government on the role of the media.

Following the case of Pacific Consultants International, a Japanese company, which bribed officials for the East-West Highway, he said, ‘we are also looking to explore, with the Japanese, joint initiatives to strengthen the management of Overseas Development Assistance to Vietnam.’

In addition, Miliband emphasized the need to maintain global trade and free markets and stated that ‘Vietnam is, and will continue to be, an important trading partner for the UK.’

The project has generated a good deal of interest among the Vietnamese press and public, and already more than 15,000 people have paid almost 20,000 visits to the site and posted in excess of 100 questions.

Yoosk co-founder Keith Halstead, said, “We are very happy with the way this project is going. It is very interesting for us to see the response each interviewee has been received and so far the people to have attracted most interest and questions are David Miliband and British businessman Theo Paphitis.”

British Ambassador Mark Kent said, “Reaching out to the whole of society and promoting people to people contacts is a key element of British diplomacy.

“Foreign Secretary David Miliband has actively participated in our exciting agenda with Vietnam. First he and Sir Alex Ferguson sent a Tet video message (www.blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/kent) and now he has taken part in the Yoosk project. A great start to the year.”

Yoosk was founded by former British Council Deputy Director Tim Hood and, the documentary film maker, Keith Halstead. The website aims to open lines of communication between public figures in the UK and Vietnamese citizens.

Readers can read Miliband’s answers on the site: http://www.yoosk.vn/ukvn/celebrity/19/David_Miliband.aspx.

VietNamNet/SGGP