Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has pledged to create a favourable and highly competitive environment for foreign businesses, including those from the United Kingdom, to operate efficiently in the country.

Mr Dung made the statement while receiving the Minister of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Gareth Thomas, who is in Hanoi for an official visit to Viet Nam.

Mr Dung noted that the effective implementation of the agreements signed by the two countries during his visit to the UK in 2008 will bring bilateral ties to new heights.

He affirmed that Viet Nam has fulfilled its commitment to the World Trade Organisation regarding the opening of its markets for foreign businesses. The country has made considerable strides in carrying out administrative and tax reform programmes and combating corruption, gradually meeting international norms.

For his part, Minister Thomas thanked the Vietnamese Government for creating favourable conditions for UK businesses to operate in the country. He affirmed that UK businesses are keen to promote cooperation with and transfer of technology for Viet Nam through business and investment activities.

He expressed his belief that Viet Nam, in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will play an active role at an international conference on climate change to be held in Hanoi this March and negotiations of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (VOV)