Vietnam foreign minister attends Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral

Authorized by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Son was in the U.K. on Sunday and Monday to pay tribute to the 96-year-old queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, at her state funeral held at Westminster Abbey in London, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The minister also attended a reception for representatives from nations hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Sunday night, and another reception hosted by British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly at Westminster Abbey right after the funeral.

He met King Charles III, Prime Minister Liz Truss and many new cabinet members of the British government.

On behalf of the Vietnamese government, Son sent the deep condolences of the Vietnamese senior leadership to King Charles III, members of the royal family, the government and people of the U.K.

He highly appreciated Queen Elizabeth II’s role in the U.K.’s prosperous development and status, and emphasized the Queen’s valuable support in promoting Vietnam-U.K. cooperation.

He had meetings with a number of foreign leaders who were attending the Queen’s Funeral.

Son was among more than 2,000 guests, including 500 world leaders, royal family members and officials representing nearly 200 countries and territories that attended the state funeral for the late queen.

Queen Elizabeth II died September 8 at Balmoral Palace, Scotland, aged 96. She was crowned in 1952, at the age of 25, after the death of her father, King George VI. In June, the U.K. hosted the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II to celebrate the 70th anniversary of her accession, longer than any other monarch in the country’s history.

Vietnam established diplomatic relations with Britain on September 11, 1973, and upgraded it to a strategic partnership in September 2010.

Trade turnover between the two countries last year reached nearly $6.6 billion, up 17.2% from the previous year.

As of June 2022, the U.K. ranked 15th out of 139 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.