President Vo Van Thuong welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first official visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister; emphasizing that along with the visit to Vietnam in April 2023 by Australian Governor-General David Hurley, this visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has contributed to creating new momentum for the Strategic Partnership in the context of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1973-2023). The President appreciated Australia for always providing Vietnam with a stable source of ODA and actively supporting Vietnam in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic through timely support of large quantities of vaccines.


President Vo Van Thuong received Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his impression of Vietnam's changes after each return visit; affirmed that Vietnam is always Australia's top priority partner in the region and wishes to continuously develop cooperative relations with Vietnam; said that Vietnam will have a priority position in the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 that Australia is building.

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with the strong development of bilateral relations after 50 years of diplomatic relations, bringing practical benefits to the people of both countries and actively contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world; agreed to further strengthen political trust between the two countries, considering this an important foundation for developing bilateral relations to new heights in the coming time. The two sides were pleased with the outstanding achievements in all fields, especially in politics - foreign affairs, defense, security, economy - trade - investment, education - training, culture, tourism, sports, labor, science and technology, people-to-people exchange, local cooperation, etc.

President Vo Van Thuong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was pleased to announce that Australia has decided to provide 105 million AUD to Vietnam to promote cooperation in the field of climate change response and energy transition; RMIT University will increase its investment in Vietnam to 250 million AUD; Western Sydney University will provide scholarships for Vietnamese and regional students. Prime Minister Albanese also welcomed the recent opening of direct flights by Vietnamese airlines Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet to major cities in Australia, contributing to promoting economic and tourism cooperation and increasing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Reception scene.

The President highly appreciated the meaningful activities of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during his visit, including exchanges with the two women's football teams and enjoying Vietnamese cuisine using ingredients imported from Australia. On this occasion, the President asked Australia to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Australia to maintain the Vietnamese language, traditions and culture, and for Vietnamese students to access visa procedures and study abroad conveniently; open more branches of major universities in Vietnam; and soon implement the revised Memorandum of Understanding on the Agricultural Labor Program. The President said that Vietnam is ready to provide highly skilled workers in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors to Australia and encourage Australian citizens to participate in the Working Holiday Program in Vietnam.

Discussing regional and international issues, the two sides agreed to continue to support each other and cooperate closely at regional and international forums, especially the United Nations, APEC, ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reaffirmed Australia's stance on supporting the rule of international law in the region and resolving disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS.

NGOC THU-TUAN HUY