Dr. Liam Fox had a virtual meeting with the Honduran Minister of Economy, Antonia Rivera.

The Minister congratulated Dr. Fox on his progress to the second round of the selection process for the next Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and was delighted to exchange views about what is needed to strengthen the organisation. In particular, she highlighted that the WTO needs to play a fundamental role on the road to economic recovery due to the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic, including support to SMES, which will be vital for the economic wellbeing of all countries.

Dr. Fox highlighted that Covid-19 has taught us that we live in a deeply interdependent world, that our resilience lies in diversity of supply, and that our global institutions need to reflect this.

He says that from the first day of his appointment, he will work to ensure the global pandemic does not lead to a rise in protectionism, ensuring global trade works for everyone, including smaller developing countries and small businesses. As this is one of his priorities, he wants to work with Honduras to advance these priorities.

Dr. Fox is campaigning to restore the credibility of the WTO at the heart of the rules-based trading system, reform its Appellate Body, deliver genuine gender equality by ensuring that at least half of his top team are women and work more closely with other international organisations.

Dr. Fox will go into the second round of voting against nominees from Kenya, Nigeria, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. WTO delegates are expected to whittle down the five candidates to two in October before choosing a winner the following month.

The Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister used the meeting to agree the refreshed Strategic Partnership framework to enhance cooperation between the two countries for the next 10 years. This framework spans a range of areas including climate change, trade, security, human rights and closer ties on innovation and collaboration to develop a Covid-19 vaccine and therapeutics.

On tackling the spread of Covid-19, they agreed that alongside the search for a vaccine it was important to work together to ensure the most vulnerable countries in the world were not left behind during the ongoing pandemic. They also discussed an additional £6.3m UK funding for regional collaboration on a range of programmes to tackle the health and economic impacts of Covid-19.

They discussed a new Free Trade Agreement and their shared ambitions to conclude a new deal as soon as possible which would build on the already extensive trading relationship.

Deputy Prime Minister Minh expressed Vietnam’s support for the UK’s application for ASEAN Dialogue Partner status and the UK’s ambition to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

On climate change, they agreed to deepen cooperation on green finance and renewable energy to support implementation of the Paris Agreement. With the UK hosting COP26 next year they also discussed how technological innovation could drive further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Minh resolved to continue close collaboration on security issues including a shared ongoing commitment to upholding maritime law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. They also agreed further cooperation on building capacity to tackle the illegal trafficking of people.

Finally they both agreed on the mutual benefits of educational exchanges between the two countries.