Major import items include footwear, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, furniture, coffee and tea. The UK is the 5th largest foreign investor and the largest EU investor in Vietnam. Investments in sectors such as oil, lubricants, agriculture, packaging, beverages, insurance, telecommunication, banking and media. Vietnam Programme Support Office was established in April 1999. Current activities include poverty alleviation programme in Ha Tinh province, secondary teacher training, English language teaching, scholarship programme and joint funding of NGOs.
Planned activities are work in rural roads, primary education and rural work and sanitation.
Small Grant Scheme worth 120,000 pa funding small scale developmental and infrastructural projects throughout Vietnam. VSO has 42 volunteers, mainly teaching English, and GAP has 20 volunteers in Vietnam. The Duke of York visited Vietnam in March 1999. Dr Le Van Chau visited the UK in April 1999. Dr Ngo Thuong San, President of PetroVietnam, visited the UK in November 1999.