A British Royal Navy ship named Exeter arrived Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, starting a five-day visit to the country, while Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong is in Britain to boost relations between the two countries.

On Wednesday afternoon, officers of the ship, which has a crew of 266 people, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Durkin, calledon the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the Command of the Military Zone No.7 and the Vietnam Navy Command, after laying a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial.

During their stay in the city, crew members will visit the Cu Chi tunnels, play sports with local teams and participate in charity activities.

On Thursday, their ship will host visiting groups from the Military Zone No.7, local naval cadets, universities, and charity organizations.

This is the 5th visit by a British Royal Navy ship to Vietnam. The last visit was by Nottingham in May 2002.

Exeter is a Type 42 Destroyer whose primary role is to provide area air defense to a group of ships. It is equipped with a Lynx MK8 helicopter, and powered by two Cogag turbines.

Since the 1990s, the relations between Vietnam and Britain have developed steadily. The countries inked agreements and memorandums of understanding on aviation, investment promotion and protection,double taxation avoidance, HIV/AIDS control and poverty reduction.

The two-way trade rose to nearly 900 million US dollars in 2003from 269 million dollars in 1997. Britain now ranks the third among European Union investors in Vietnam with total registered capital of some 1.2 billion dollars, mainly in petroleum and heavy industry.