UKABC in partnership with KPMG and the Department for International Trade (DIT) is hosting a roundtable with the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Heather Wheeler MP and senior government and business figures from Vietnam and the UK to discuss the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) recently signed by the Rt. Hon Elizabeth Truss MP Secretary of State for International Trade, in Hanoi.

The FTA is a significant milestone that will deepen the relationship and provide business certainty with the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s economy has been the shining star in a region that has struggled with the economic fallout of the coronavirus impact. It has been forecasted that Vietnam will grow at around 6.8% in 2021, one of the fastest growth rates globally. With the UK-Vietnam FTA in place, Vietnam stands out as the place for UK companies to continue to invest in and do business with.

The FTA will also bring the UK closer to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which accounted for 13% of global GDP in 2019 and will rise to 16% if the UK were to join. Vietnam is a founding member of the CPTPP and has expressed support for the UK’s accession.

Programme

• 08.45 Welcome Remarks by Ian Gibbons MBE, CEO, UK-ASEAN Business Council
• 08.50 Opening remarks by Heather Wheeler MP, Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
• 09.00 Panel Discussion – The UK-Vietnam FTA: What it means for business.
  Presentation on the UK-Vietnam FTA by Warrick Cleine, Chairman and CEO, KPMG Vietnam
  Followed by a panel discussion with:
  Emily Hamblin, Vietnam Country Director, Department for International Trade
  Dominic James, Head – Asia Pacific, Bilateral Trade Relations, Department for International Trade
  Tran Ngoc An, Ambassador of Vietnam
  Moderated by Ian Gibbons MBE, CEO, UK-ASEAN Business Council
• 10.00 Roundtable Concludes

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