Vietnam backs UK to join TPP in Hanoi talks

Brexit and COVID push both sides to finalize bilateral trade deal

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab meets Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam September 30, 2020. © Reuters

LIEN HOANG and TOMOYA ONISHI, Nikkei staff writers

September 30, 2020 19:23 JST

Updated on October 1, 2020 00:55 JST

HANOI/HO CHI MINH CITY -- The United Kingdom said it has Vietnam's support to join a trans-Pacific trade deal, a boost for the country facing the dire economic impacts of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

With an elbow bump rather than a traditional handshake, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, in Hanoi on Wednesday to discuss a virus vaccine as well as two trade deals.