UK Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew said this is a very significant moment as the UK has not had a coronation in the past seven decades.

Meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy staff and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the UK, President Thuong said Vietnam and the UK are accelerating cooperation across the board to upgrade ties.

The Vietnamese Party and State consider overseas Vietnamese an indispensable part of Vietnam, he said.

President Thuong is scheduled to meet King Charles III and Queen Camilla, as well as leaders of the British government and Parliament, to tighten ties between the two countries.

He will also meet representatives of leading corporations, educational institutions, and friendship organisations. The UK is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Europe. The two signed a free trade agreement in 2020.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK made significant contributions to the COVAX Facility of a vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The UK donated millions of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam both through bilateral channels and the COVAX Facility.