This post is also available in: Vietnamese
Jeremy Browne, Foreign Office Minister for Asia Pacific, is excited to be coming back to Vietnam next week.
Late in the evening at the end of his first visit a year ago, we sat at a cafe overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake, and Mr Browne told me how impressed he was.
Since then we haven’t looked back. There have been obstacles and problems. But the commitment on both sides has driven forward an ambitious agenda.
That now includes a dialogue on foreign and security policy. Mr Browne co-chaired the inaugural “Strategic Dialogue” last summer in Whitehall. The second round will be at the Government Guest House in Hanoi next week.
I am also looking forward to a call on VTV and another reception at my Residence.
The reception will be for UK alumni. We will award the latest (increased) round of Chevening scholarships for study in Britain. Readers of this blog will know that I am an admirer of the UKAV, and that there are now more than 1,500 members.
At VTV we will discuss the code of conduct they are developing with our support. In 2011 Mr Browne gave a speech on the media at Vietnam’s Academy of Journalism, which got a lot of challenging questions from the audiences in the room and online. It is a controversial topic.
Minister of State Jeremy Browne (right) and Vice Minister of Ministry of Information and Communications Do Quy Doan took photos with students of the Academy of Journalism and Communications in his first visit to Vietnam in 2011. (Photo: British Embassy Hanoi)
He will also answer questions in front of the media: YOUR questions, and you can submit them here. The more interesting the better.
A warm welcome to Mr Browne on his return.
Dear Antony,what a fantastic surprise to me by reading that esp. Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne is gonna to visit or meet you, your team (and Vietnam!)in the next days. Why such a surprise to me ? Mr. Jeremy Browne wrote an excellent report against “Torture in the world”.I believe ,99% security,that it was written maybe one week ago-he also held a remarkable speech to the same topic.He also has got the nerves and the COURAGE-to do sthg. similary in re. of “Homophobia”.This of course at May,17th, 12 .Finally, problems or obstacles are only for one reason in this world:
To be a symbol,a reminder of how urgently they wanted (and needed!) to be/getting solved.In this case:This already mentioned and nearly solved”Strategic Dialogue” and sureley soon- and this time to 100%- solved “Dialogue”at your Guest House in Hanoi.In other words:It ‘always the same:It takes always only 2 sides ,only few days of patience or a little bit more of time, and not ALL but the most IMPORTANT problems are solved.Anyway:It will going on in a very positive sense for both sides:The S.R.Vietnam and the United Kingdom.To conclude my comment, I must admit that I absoluteley don ‘t know of what VTV is.Or UKAV.So thank you for giving ALL the readers of these lines, incl. myself,the choice and chance to become one of these 1.550 members by only pushing “submit”.And this is what I also did. BW+ peacefully weekend, Ingo-Steven,Stuttgart
Dear Antony and dear Mr. Jeremy Browne,
in re. of yr. recent visit to S.R. Vietnam I just want to congratulate to the both of you for this outstanding success of yr.
visit. Meanwhile I ‘ve wrote yr. communique about the 2nd UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue on July 5th in Hanoi and can only full agree to this.
BW, Ingo-Steven Wais, Stuttgart
Dear Antony, dear Mr. Jeremy Browne,
if this saying “Nobody is perfect” is true, than I ‘m an example “par excellence” of it. For-of course-I didn ‘t WROTE the above mentioned and in my honest opinion into the right future leading communique of Hanoi, I’ve READ it .
So, dear Sirs, I beg your pardon.
BW, Ingo-Steven Wais, Stuttgart
Dear Antony, dear Jeremy Browne, I admit: I had to read this 2nd. “Strategic-Dialogue” Communique between the Vietnamese Vice-Minister Mr.Do Quy Doan , and the both of you 2 times.Therefore I want to add: These document of Hanoi, July 5th, 12 is leading in the best direction in re. of an even better co-operation on several levels ( e.g. Economy, Culture or Security Police).Surely not from one day to another. But-in my opinion- that ‘s the reason why it is called a “Strategic Dialogue”.BW + congratulations,Ingo-Steven
[...] In which case it’s also worth noticing that that neither the American Ambassador nor the Australian Ambassador blogs. Meanwhile the British Ambassador (as I type) hasn’t updated his since the end of June. [...]