Australia announces 94.5 million AUD package to support Mekong Delta

(Dan Tri) - Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced on the morning of August 22 that the Australian government will provide 94.5 million AUD in support for climate change response initiatives in the Mekong Delta over the next 10 years.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (right), took a photo with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on the morning of August 22 (Photo: Quoc Dat).

"This is a concrete example of how we are working together to address the common challenge of climate change," Foreign Minister Wong said at the Vietnam - Australia Forum held in Hanoi on the morning of August 22.

The support package, worth a total of AUD 94.5 million (equivalent to USD 60.6 million), includes four components, the largest of which is the program to build a knowledge-sharing center on climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta (AUD 75 million), to be implemented in 2024-2034.

The hub is where Australian and Vietnamese experts work together to promote resilience efforts among communities, businesses and women leaders.

Other components include an initiative to promote a shift to sustainable rice farming technology in the Mekong Delta (AUD 15 million), support for women’s small and micro enterprises (AUD 2.5 million), and cooperation in the water sector between the two countries (AUD 2 million).

In addition to climate change cooperation, in the coming time, Australian officials will visit Vietnam to share experiences on e-government, according to a press release from the Vietnam - Australia Center.

Vietnam-Australia diplomatic relations have been assessed as positive in recent years. In November 2022, Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese jointly announced the consideration of upgrading the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at an appropriate time.

Bilateral trade is expected to grow by 20% annually during 2018-2022, reaching a record 23.5 billion AUD in 2022. The Australian Government has increased ODA to Vietnam by 18% to 92.8 million AUD in 2022-2023.

Scene of the Vietnam - Australia Forum event with the theme "Regional cooperation in a changing world" (Photo: Quoc Dat).

Vietnam is currently the fifth largest country in the world sending students to study in Australia. As of December 2022, there were more than 22,000 Vietnamese students studying and researching at Australian educational institutions, according to statistics from the Australian Department of Education.

According to Ms. Wong, the support announced on the morning of August 22 is "additional" to the 105 million AUD support package that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced during his visit in June to support sustainable economic growth and energy transition.

Political interests are close together.

At the event, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, affirmed that Vietnam "chooses regional cooperation to join countries with similar views in responding to strategic competition, narrow nationalism, and unreasonable impositions of major countries."

He also emphasized that the 50 years of Vietnam-Australia relations have achieved many "leaps and bounds", especially in the past 15 years.

"Although Hanoi is more than 4,800 miles away from Canberra, deep political trust and increased exchanges have become a bridge to shorten the geographical distance between our two countries," Mr. Thang said.

Agreeing with the above comment, Ms. Penny Wong said that the two countries may be thousands of kilometers apart but have similar political interests, which is the interest in a region that operates according to laws, standards and practices.

"Our interests lie in an open, inclusive, rules-based region where every nation, big or small, can determine its own destiny," Foreign Minister Wong said.

Both Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang and Ms. Penny Wong emphasized that strategic trust plays an important role in building relations not only between Vietnam and Australia, but also between countries in the region and in the international community.

Dantri.com.vn