Relationship dossier
United Kingdom
Vietnam
Relationship assessment
A broadening UK–Vietnam partnership, underpinned by a free trade agreement and a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
United Kingdom toward Vietnam
+45The United Kingdom has pursued closer relations with Vietnam through the bilateral free trade agreement, effective from 2021, and the 2023 elevation of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It has also engaged Vietnam on climate cooperation, including through the Just Energy Transition Partnership framework.
Vietnam toward United Kingdom
+45Vietnam has deepened government-to-government cooperation with the United Kingdom through the 2023 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and implementation of the bilateral free trade agreement. Vietnam has also participated in climate and energy-transition cooperation with the UK.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship has a durable institutional and economic basis in the free trade agreement and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, alongside cooperation on climate, education and security. Human-rights concerns and irregular migration remain areas of friction, but the overall relationship is substantially cooperative.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The United Kingdom and Vietnam have built a broad partnership spanning trade, climate policy, education and security. Their bilateral free trade agreement took effect in 2021, and the relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023. Cooperation coexists with UK concerns about human rights in Vietnam and shared challenges around irregular migration.
Areas of tension
- UK concerns about human rights and political freedoms in Vietnam.
- Cooperation challenges concerning irregular migration and trafficking.
Key developments
The UK–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement entered into force.
The United Kingdom and Vietnam elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of commitments under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership are unclear.
- The extent of continuing cooperation on climate finance and security is uncertain.