UK trade mission seeks opportunities to develop smart cities in Vietnam

Tu Anh

Nov 15, 2022 / 10:45 PM

Hanoi is among the destinations of a UK trade mission during its five-day visit since November 9, seeking opportunities in smart city development and encouraging the country’s adoption of smart city standardization.

The trip, held under the framework of the UK– Vietnam Letter of Intent to enhance B2B (business-to-business) cooperation in digital development signed in 2021, is expected to support Vietnam in setting a clear pathway to adopt approaches that put people at the heart of implementing Smart Cities.

The UK trade mission visits Hanoi. Photo: British Embassy to Vietnam

The trade mission is joined by 11 UK companies, including Arup, the British Standards Institutions, Caburn Telecom, Carbon Re, CogAI, Edify, Indie Spring, Kingspan, ProtectBox, Unifi.ID, and VX Fiber UK.

During three days in Hanoi and two days in HCM City, the UK companies met with a wide range of authorities and stakeholders in the public and private sectors and participated in B2B matching sessions and a UK Smart Cities Day in HCMC.

”Via the trade mission, the UK commits to bolstering trade and investment ties with Vietnam and supporting the country with standardization of smart cities development,” said British ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew, on the trip.

The UK trade mission works with the Ministry of Information and Communications

According to Kelly Cailes, the Vice President of Business Development of Carbon Re and mission member, Vietnam offers quality opportunities for smart cities technologies to address infrastructure overload and negative environmental impacts.

During the meeting with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the two sides discussed commercial cooperation potential between Vietnam and the UK in Smart Cities and the national digital transformation program, digital transformation platforms, and digital technology applications for urban areas.

Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation and utilize the Letter of Intent between the MIC and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and create a foundation for other bilateral digital cooperation in the future.

Vietnam has participated in the Global Future Cities Program (GFCP) Smart City Handbook: Viet Nam, developed by DIT in collaboration with Arup, which describes smart city opportunities in Viet Nam.

Recently, Vietnam’s MIC and UK’s DCMS signed the Letter of Intent to bolster digital and B2B cooperation.

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