As of October 30, as part of General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to the United Kingdom, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha and Deputy Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Mike Wharton held a courtesy meeting and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in healthcare, education and training and science and technology, contributing to boosting collaboration between the two localities.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam and members of the high-level Vietnamese delegation, including Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang, during the Vietnam–UK High-Level Economic Forum held the same day.
With this memorandum of understanding, the number of international localities maintaining friendly cooperative relations with Ho Chi Minh City has risen to 87, marking a new milestone in the city’s foreign affairs efforts. The agreement also reaffirms the city’s pioneering role in advancing Vietnam’s policy of comprehensive, extensive and effective international integration.
During the visit, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha also held a working session with representatives of the UK Export Finance (UKEF) agency to discuss major infrastructure projects in Ho Chi Minh City; held talks with BP Castrol Group on cooperation in clean energy and green industry development; and worked with Standard Chartered Bank on initiatives related to green finance, credit partnerships and investment support for Ho Chi Minh City enterprises.
At the Vietnam–UK High-Level Economic Forum, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha delivered a keynote speech highlighting Ho Chi Minh City’s investment and cooperation potential across three strategic pillars.
These include the development of an International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City; advancing modern urban and transportation infrastructure; and promoting digital transformation and the green economy.
Vice Chairman Nguyen Loc Ha emphasized the city’s goal of becoming a leading regional high-tech financial hub by 2030 through the application of sandbox mechanisms and by attracting major global financial institutions, including investors from the United Kingdom, with competitive incentives and a stable, transparent investment environment.
Through the signing of this memorandum of understanding and the implementation of bilateral initiatives, Ho Chi Minh City continues to affirm its position as a national leader in international integration, actively translating the foreign policy directives of the Party and the State into action and contributing to the fulfillment of high-level commitments between Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
Under the signed memorandum of understanding, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the Liverpool City Region will expand cooperation in three key areas as follows.
As for healthcare, both sides will collaborate on R&D, medical training and AI-driven healthcare, and share expertise in system management and digital transformation to promote global health equity.
In the education sector, they are expected to strengthen ties between universities and research institutes, expand student and faculty exchanges and jointly develop digital education programs.
Regarding the science and technology, both sides will concentrate on promoting research, innovation and technology transfer in healthcare, environment, nd energy.
Liverpool will encourage UK investment in high-tech and innovation in Ho Chi Minh City, while the city deepens cooperation in AI, data science and public health data.
