Prince Andrew, Duke of York is going to visit Vietnam to represent the UK at 1000 years of Thang Long – Hanoi and to boost bilateral relations, the UK Embassy in Hanoi announced on Oct. 7.
The Duke of York’s visit to Vietnam aims to raise the UK’s profile as a major trading and investment partner for Vietnam, highlight further investment opportunities for British companies in Vietnam, and encourage Vietnam to regard the UK as the main business gateway into Europe.
Prince Andrew will visit Vietnam as a Guest of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. His Royal Highness will call on the President and the Prime Minister and will be hosted for lunch by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem.
Prince Andrew, who was appointed the UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in 2001, will attend the Gala Dinner on October 9 and the Marching Ceremony at Ba Dinh Square on October 10 to share in the celebrations with Hanoians.
In Hanoi, the Duke of York will formally witness the opening of the British University of Vietnam and acknowledge the launch of the Duke of York Scholarship. His Royal Highness will also attend openings for the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (at the National Hospital For Tropical Diseases), attend the opening of Standard Chartered Bank’s latest branch (in the presence of its new Vietnam CEO), attend the opening of Savills’ new premises and receive a sector briefing ahead of an urban development round-table in Ho Chi Minh City.
At a seminar on Public Private Partnerships, His Royal Highness will deliver the closing remarks to help promote the concept. He will also present the first ever Vietnamese ACCA Simpson Scholar award at the ACCA scholarship award ceremony.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the Duke of York will meet the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. The Duke of York will have a round-table with British companies on Urban Development, attend a British Community Charity Reception and meet representatives of UK companies in the financial services sector over a dinner on the same day.
The following day, the Duke of York will meet with Vietnamese Entrepreneurs and attend a luncheon with UK companies in the Oil and Gas sector.
In 2009, UK's imports from Vietnam reached approximately US$1,8 billion and exports to Vietnam stood at about US$348 million. UK businesses are well represented by leading UK multinationals such as BP, Shell, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Prudential. UK is the third largest EU investor (after France and the Netherlands) with 126 (ongoing) investments worth US$2,22 billion as of June 2010.
