The Vietnam Union of Friendship Associations and the Vietnam-UKFriendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City (VUFA) jointly held aceremony on June 10 in the southern city to mark the 89th birthday ofUK Queen Elizabeth II.

Addressing the event, VUFAChairman Huynh Ngoc An said Vietnam and the UK are celebratingthe Queen’s birthday in the context of growing bilateral ties in allfields.

Economic and trade relations between the twocountries have expanded significantly since they signed their strategicpartnership, he noted.

At the same time, educationand training collaboration has also grown with a rising number ofVietnamese students studying in the UK and more UK professors teachingin universities in Vietnam, said An.

He added thatthe Newton Fund in Vietnam, an official cooperation programme betweenVietnamese and UK governments, has provide a 10 million GBP sponsorshipover five years for research and inventions in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, UK Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Douglas AnthonyBarnes reviewed major milestones in the bilateral relationship,highlighting that ties have been enhanced in all fields with regularfriendship visits and affiliation in economics, trade, education,defence and crime control.

Particularly, the UKand Ho Chi Minh City have set up a strong partnership througheffective and frequent joint activities.

Thediplomat stated that Vietnam is one of the most important partners ofhis country in Southeast Asia , expressing his hope that the bilateralpartnership will flourish in the future.-VNA