VIETNAMESE leader To Lam held a bilateral meeting with Communist Party of Britain (CPB) general secretary Robert Griffiths and other representatives today as part of his official visit to Britain.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) general secretary was due to meet British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as well as the King on this week’s trip, aimed at upgrading Vietnam-Britain ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

Britain’s entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes Vietnam, last December is its biggest post-Brexit trade deal to date and Mr Lam’s visit is aimed at increasing trade and promoting joint research, sustainable development and co-operation in science and addressing climate change.

But he told a CPB delegation led by Mr Griffiths that the first thing on his agenda when he arrived was a visit to Karl Marx’s tomb in Highgate cemetery.

Mr Lam said Vietnamese communists all knew that their revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh had lived in Britain for five years, and said the party was keen to work with British communists to locate materials relating to Ho’s time here, with the aim of establishing a museum detailing it in 2030, the centenary of Ho’s founding of the Indochinese Communist Party.

He was also keen for more exchanges on issues of global importance including workers’ rights and climate change, he said.

He and Mr Griffiths paid tribute to the tradition of solidarity with Vietnam in Britain, especially during its long independence struggle.