Member News
By Michael Courtney - 3rd December 2009
Vietnam has come a long way from the wars which dominated its recent history, the all-party parliamentary group on the counrty was told yesterday.
Speaking through an interpreter to a delegation of members of the Vietnamese parliament and their aides, Ben Chapman (Lab, Wirral South) welcomed the group to the Palace of Westminster and commended the nature of the bilateral friendship with the UK.
"Our relationship is good and getting better," he said.
"Trade is increasing; we have large numbers of Vietnamese students and, indeed, a large Vietnamese community in London.
He described the country as a "responsible political and economic partner."
Both countries consistently exchange delegations on official visits and all members present in the meeting agreed that the positive relationship between the two Parliaments reflects that of the countries.
On Vietnam's reaction to the global economic crisis, Nguyen Van Son MP, the head of the delegation, commented that "the Government is concentrating on policies to facilitate economic development and control inflation".
"This year, Vietnam is expected to have a GDP of 5.2 per cent," he said.
"The National Assembly is predicting a GDP of greater than 6 per cent in 2010."
While such admirable rates of growth are welcomed by the UK, Chapman observed that Vietnam's economy is tied largely to China's, which expects to have a GDP of 8 per cent this year.
Presently, 24 per cent of Vietnam's population has access to the internet.
While this may influence many young Vietnamese people to travel abroad, the Government is confident that many of them return to their homeland to conduct business thanks to its increasingly attractive economic position.
On health care, a recent budget increase has allowed many poor Vietnamese people access to doctors and health care facilities. Additionally, the Government is working on programmes to reduce poverty.
Challenging questions were raised on issues of waste disposal, poor public transport, particularly in major cities, and the destruction in some areas of the country's natural ecology.
Son assured the group that the Government of Vietnam is putting "great effort" into addressing such issues, often the by-products of rapid growth.
Chapman reassured the guests that Vietnam is viewed as a "positive ally in the ASEAN countries, Euro zone and, increasingly, the UN".
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd