NTO - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received the Chairman of the Australian Parliamentary Friendship Group.

According to the VNA special correspondent, during his official visit to Australia, on the afternoon of March 7th in Canberra, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Ms. Sharon Claydon, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chair of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, and her colleagues.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his sincere gratitude for the thoughtful, respectful, and warm welcome extended by the Parliamentary Friendship Group in particular, and the Government and people of Australia in general, to the Vietnamese Government delegation; leaving a deep impression of a beautiful, peaceful, developed, and hospitable Australia.

The Prime Minister thanked Australia for its support of Vietnam throughout history, in post-war recovery, socio -economic development, especially in providing official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, and most recently in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of the Vietnamese government congratulated Australia on successfully hosting the Special Summit commemorating 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations, as well as on the socio-economic development achievements following the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed confidence that the Australian people will continue to achieve even greater successes, building a more prosperous Australia with an increasingly prominent role and position in the international arena.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Sharon Clayton, Chair of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA.

Expressing pleasure at the fact that over the past half-century, the Vietnam-Australia friendship has continuously developed strongly and become increasingly practical and effective through all channels, the Prime Minister highly appreciated the cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Australian Parliament, especially after the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Australia; he hoped and believed that the cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries, as well as the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the two countries, would continue to be strengthened, with activities of exchange, learning, support, and sharing, especially promoting exchanges among young parliamentarians and female parliamentarians…

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chair of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, Sharon Claydon, thanked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for taking the time to meet; and highly appreciated Vietnam's contributions to Australia's relations, especially to the success of the recent Special Summit commemorating the 50th anniversary of Australia-ASEAN relations.

Congratulating the successful talks between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Chairman of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group expressed his pleasure at the positive development of Vietnam-Australia relations, especially since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; he stated that the Australian House of Representatives looks forward to implementing the contents within this new cooperation framework, including promoting cooperation between the two Parliamentary Friendship Groups in particular and the two legislative bodies in general.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Sharon Clayton, Chair of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA.

Recalling her meeting with President Vuong Dinh Hue during his visit to Australia, Sharon Claydon stated that Vietnam and Australia share many common interests, both for the development of each country and for security, safety, stability, and development in the region, especially in areas such as disease prevention, socio-economic development, education and training, and the joint goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, energy transition, and offshore wind power development. She expressed confidence that after the upgrade, Vietnam-Australia cooperation will develop to a new level.

Given the complex and unpredictable global situation, including conflicts, strategic competition, climate change, and population aging, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that these are all global issues requiring a global approach. He expressed his hope that the legislative bodies of both countries would continue to support each other for the development of each country, the people of both nations, and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The Prime Minister requested that the parliaments of both countries continue to concretize the agreements already signed; support and monitor the implementation of commitments between the two governments, and realize the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a practical and effective manner.

The Prime Minister proposed that the two sides cooperate to revitalize existing growth drivers in investment, exports, and consumption; supplement new growth drivers such as the digital economy, green economy, circular economy, and sharing economy; requested Australia to continue creating favorable conditions and providing scholarships for Vietnamese students; and to have more open policies on labor and visas for Vietnamese people doing business and living in Australia.

Considering Australia to be a multi-ethnic and multicultural nation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that Australia consider recognizing the Vietnamese community living in Australia as an Australian ethnic minority.

According to VNA/News Agency

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