British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew speaks at the Vietnam-UK Semiconductor Forum in Hanoi on August 19, 2025. (Photo: NIC)

Bao Tram: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for joining us. We believe that Vietnam-UK semiconductor forum will enable the two countries to concretize strategic cooperation commitments and make semiconductors a pillar of the Vietnam – UK relations.

Ambassador: I'm delighted to be here today at the National Innovation Centre, where we have this UK delegation connecting with Vietnamese government, business, and academia on the semiconductor sector. This workshop is the first of its kind between the UK and Vietnam, and we’re here to promote the connections and find opportunities for the future.

Bao Tram: What strategies do you think would be most effective for Vietnam to strengthen connections with leading UK businesses, universities, and research institutes in the semiconductor field?

Ambassador: The UK has a deep talent pool and a long history of working in the semiconductor sector, both private businesses, academic institutions and universities and wider policy environment and ecosystem, which has led to the UK being one of the leading technology countries in the world, with over 1 trillion pounds invested in the tech sector. So, I'm really pleased to have here today UK technology and semiconductor companies, including ARM, including – we have the University of Liverpool as part of this – a range of Oxford Instruments and a range of other businesses who are here to build partnerships with Vietnamese partners. Now, Vietnamese companies have huge ambitions in this sector, and the best way that they can connect with their UK counterparts is through missions and forums like this one, sharing expertise, sharing understanding of where there are challenges and where there are opportunities in the sector. In the UK, we have a new National Semiconductor Centre, so I highly recommend that Vietnamese businesses continue to build those relationships, perhaps with visits to the UK, meeting some of the academic institutions, looking at some of the opportunities for training and upskilling in the semiconductor sector, and making connections with commercial partners where there are real opportunities between our two countries.

The Vietnam-UK semiconductor forum brings together technology enterprises, research institutes, universities, organisations, and experts from both countries. (Photo: NIC)

Bao Tram: How can the two countries work together to build the capacity, talent, and infrastructure needed to join global semiconductor networks?

Ambassador: Vietnam has set out a high ambition to train 50,000 semiconductor engineers. This is in line with Vietnam’s national semiconductor strategy and it's also very much in line with the UK's capacities and capabilities.

UK institutions like ARM offer a range of technical and professional skills and academic courses which can help create the next generation of talent.

So there are opportunities on the training side and there are opportunities for faculty members and others in the semiconductor research space to build collaborations. I'm seeing great opportunities here between companies and between universities to build the next generation of semiconductor talent.

So the UK has expertise in semiconductors in a range of areas. We have compound semiconductor specialism in South Wales and the UK. We have advanced testing and packaging technology and we want to see Vietnam move up the value chain to build connections with the UK in these specialist areas.

Bao Tram: Finally, how do you see the potential for Vietnam–UK cooperation in this industry?  

Ambassador: I think there's huge potential for us to work together here. Vietnam has a young, talented, and energetic population, a talent base to build the industry of the future. The UK has a more established semiconductor sector, and together we can share and synthesize these talents into new businesses, new ideas, and new collaborations. So, I think we've got a lot of potential to grow.

Bao Tram: Thank you for granting an interview with VOV24/7.