London (VNA) – British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward hasexpressed his belief that the UK – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), whichwas officially signed in London on December 29, will bring many benefits to thetwo countries’ trading relationship in the future.

This is a real milestone in the relationship between the two countries, theambassador told a Vietnam News Agency correspondent on the occasion of the signing of the deal.

“This year we celebrated 10 years of our strategic partnership and we know thatin the last 10 years, trade has increased dramatically between the UK andVietnam which shows a very good dynamic,” Ward said.

According to the ambassador, the free trade agreement will ensure bilateraltrade continues accelerating. It will be good news for over 3,000 Britishbusinesses who export to Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese exporters.

It will be good for British consumers who want to have access to mobile phones,clothes and shoes, food or other products from Vietnam, he said, adding thatVietnamese people are more and more interested in products of the UK such aspharmaceuticals, machinery or drinking Scottish whiskey.

He suggested telling the trade agreement story widely because British andVietnamese businesses need to take advantage of the opportunities.

At the moment, 65 percent of goods are now tariff free and the number is goingto increase to 99 percent and that means there will even be more areas in whichbilateral trade could flourish.

“We should make sure that British businesses understand more about theVietnamese economy,” he said.

The ambassador highlighted this year has been a very challenging year becauseof the pandemic but Vietnam has still managed to grow 2.9 percent to become oneof the fastest growing economies in the world.

So this is a big opportunity for the UK as the country focuses more and more onrelationships with different regions, he said.

According to the ambassador, there are certain sectors like healthcare andpharmaceuticals that the UK is strong in, and Vietnam needs more sustainable,renewable energy.

So he said he is particularly keen on the bilateral relationship to grow in thearea of wind and solar power. “Those I think are some of the trends that wewill see going forward in the next 10 years.”

The ambassadors of Vietnam and the UK were authorised to sign the UKVFTA as leadingofficials of the Vietnamese Government and Minister of Industry and Trade TranTuan Anh were unable to travel to the UK to sign directly amid the COVID-19pandemic.

Ambassador Ward said he is very pleased that he has been able to sign theUKVFTA alongside Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Tran Ngoc An on December 29.

“So, this is a great day, it's very exciting for our trading relationship,” heaffirmed./.