South Australia State wishes to promote cooperation with Vietnamese localities

The leaders of the Parliament, government and business community of South Australia highly appreciate and consider cooperation with Vietnam a priority, with many untapped cooperation potentials.

From March 11-14, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam officially visited South Australia at the invitation of the state's leaders.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam greeted Governor Frances Adamson; met and worked with Deputy Premier and Minister for Industry, Science and Innovation, Climate Change, Environment and Water, Labor and Population Strategy Susan Close; Minister for Multiculturalism and Tourism Zoe Bettison; President of the Senate Terry Stephens and South Australian Senator Tung Ngo.

On this occasion, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam chaired roundtables on agricultural trade and educational cooperation; attended and spoke at a meeting with South Australian businesses co-organized by FPT Corporation and the Chairman of the South Australia-Vietnam Business Council; met with the Vice-Chancellor and visited the Silenna PicFAB semiconductor laboratory at the University of Adelaide; met with representatives of the Vietnamese community and attended the launching ceremony of the Vietnam-Australia Association of Intellectuals and Experts (VASEA) branch in South Australia.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam and Governor Frances Adamson.

At the meetings, leaders of the South Australian parliament , government and business community highly appreciated and considered cooperation with Vietnam a priority, with many untapped cooperation potentials; emphasizing that South Australia wishes to further promote cooperation with Vietnamese localities, contributing to the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework between the two countries.

Governor Frances Adamson said Vietnam is one of the first countries the Governor will visit after taking office and is expected to visit Vietnam for the second time in May 2025.

Ms. Frances Adamson suggested that the two sides continue to focus on cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, people-to-people exchange, education and training, and low-carbon agricultural development.

Appreciating the Vietnamese community living and settling in South Australia, Governor Frances Adamson emphasized that Vietnamese students are very diligent and studious, achieving high results, and actively participating in activities at school and in their residential areas. She also appreciated the establishment of a VASEA branch in South Australia.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam and Deputy Premier Susan Close.

Deputy Premier Susan Close emphasized the strategic benefits of the cooperation between the two countries in the context of many fluctuations in the world; agreed that both sides need to continue supporting trade and investment liberalization, striving to build a region of peace, stability and respect for international law.

Australia considers Vietnam an important and trustworthy comprehensive strategic partner, and the two sides have great potential for cooperation that can complement each other. Deputy Premier Susan Close said that Vietnam is currently among the countries with the strongest development cooperation relationship with Australia, and therefore, the state of South Australia always attaches importance to and prioritizes cooperation with Vietnam.

The Deputy Prime Minister personally visited Vietnam twice and hopes that the two sides will promote cooperation in the fields of education, science, technology and innovation, tourism, culture, and green agriculture.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam and Minister of Multiculturalism and Tourism Zoe Bettison.

Minister of Multiculturalism and Tourism Zoe Bettison highly appreciated Vietnam's innovation process; expressed her impression of the rapid development of Vietnam's economy as well as the depth of Vietnamese culture, country and people.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam (center) meets with Senate President Terry Stephens and State Senator Tung Ngo.

President of the Senate Terry Stephens hopes that more and more Vietnamese businessmen will settle, live and do business in South Australia. Senator Tung Ngo believes that the friendship and cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop, including promoting bilateral trade cooperation.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam attended a meeting with South Australian businesses.

At the roundtable on agricultural trade and the meeting with businesses organized by FPT, representatives of South Australian businesses expressed great interest in cooperating with Vietnamese businesses and considered Vietnam an important market for diversifying supply chains, shifting production and investment in the region.

Vietnam is South Australia's sixth largest export market, with two-way trade worth AUD 837 million by 2024, said State Development Department trade director Bodhi Edwards. Manufactured, agricultural and high-tech goods account for 17.6 per cent of South Australia's imports.

South Australia accounts for 6.5% of Australia's exports to Vietnam. South Australia wants to export red meat, wine, grains, fibre, wool, and dairy products to Vietnam.

South Australian businesses expressed their desire to build a wool production supply chain between the two countries, export hay to serve the dairy industry and export grain to Vietnam.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam chaired a roundtable discussion on agricultural trade.

At the roundtable on education, South Australian institutions and universities all assessed that the number of Vietnamese students is always among the top among international students studying in South Australia; ranking first in vocational training. South Australian universities also have many cooperation programs with Vietnamese universities.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam chaired an education roundtable in South Australia.

For his part, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam expressed his gratitude to the state of South Australia for coordinating to welcome Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son to visit Australia in October 2024 and highly appreciated the strong development momentum of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam attended a meeting with businesses organized by FPT.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam highly appreciated the role of South Australia in the relationship between the two countries; especially in science and technology, innovation, information technology, and educational cooperation.

Emphasizing that Vietnamese businessmen, associations and students always actively contribute to the prosperity of South Australia, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam expressed his belief that the newly established VASEA branch in South Australia will contribute to strongly promoting cooperation in science, technology, education and academic exchange between the two sides.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam attended the launching ceremony of the Vietnam-Australia Association of Intellectuals and Experts (VASEA) branch in South Australia.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam suggested that South Australia strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese localities, including Da Nang city; promote cooperation in the fields of semiconductor engineering training; information technology, digital transformation; low-carbon agriculture; and facilitate Vietjet to resume direct flights to promote people-to-people exchange, trade and investment between the two sides.