David Cameron hailed rapidly growing trade with Vietnam today during the first visit by a British Prime Minister to the communist country, as a number of key business deals were signed.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has doubled in the last three years, but it still represents just 0.5 percent of the UK's total global trade, Cameron said in Hanoi.
"That indicated the enormous opportunity that there is... we believe there is much more to come," he said, at a press briefing after talks with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
A USD 580 million maintenance deal between aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and Vietnam's flag-carrier Vietnam Airlines was signed today.
The president of Rolls-Royce's aerospace division, Tony Wood, told AFP the deal was "hugely important" for the company.
A USD 156 million 20-year bond issue deal between Prudential and the State Bank of Vietnam was also signed, as well as a separate agreement on oil and gas.
The UK also agreed to extend some half a billion pounds of credit to Vietnam for infrastructure development, Cameron said, adding he had discussed the need for "better business integrity" with his Vietnamese counterpart.
Cameron is on a four-day trip to Southeast Asia, with trade a major focus as Britain seeks new markets in the fast-growing region.
Accompanied by 30 British business leaders and his minister of state for trade Francis Maude, he is pushing for deals worth more than USD 1.2 billion during the trip which has already taken him to Indonesia and Singapore.
