Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son received Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Gillian Bird

On the afternoon of June 16, at the Government headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son received Australian Ambassador Gillian Bird on the occasion of the Ambassador's beginning of his term in Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son received Ms. Gillian Bird, Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son highly appreciated Ambassador Gillian Bird's experience and proactive approach since assuming her duties in Vietnam, and expressed confidence that the Ambassador will contribute to further developing the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia.

Emphasizing that Australia is one of Vietnam's important partners in the region with high political trust and shared vision on many issues, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister expressed pleasure at the deep and effective development of bilateral relations, in the context of Vietnam's determination to implement the four important resolutions of the Politburo, considered the "Strategic Quartet," on reform, streamlining the apparatus, developing science and technology and digital transformation, and developing the private economy; and hoped that Australia would continue to accompany and implement substantive cooperation, contributing to supporting Vietnam in achieving its set goals.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister requested the Ambassador to actively coordinate and maintain the momentum of bilateral relations in the coming period, especially by maintaining exchanges of delegations at all levels, through all channels and localities of the two countries; periodically review the progress of implementing high-level commitments and agreements, including the Action Plan for implementing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the period 2024-2027. He highly appreciated the effectiveness of cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defense and security, particularly cooperation in the field of UN peacekeeping. Accordingly, the two sides should further strengthen cooperation in combating transnational crime and building a population management database.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister emphasized that the Vietnam-Australia Economic Cooperation Enhancement Strategy is the foundation for economic cooperation. Both sides need to strengthen market opening and effectively utilize free trade agreements to which both countries are members in order to achieve the target of US$20 billion in bilateral trade turnover as soon as possible, as well as contribute to maintaining a rules-based free trade system and ensuring supply chains.

Besides Australia's support for Vietnam in the areas of climate change response and energy transition, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister requested that Australia continue to facilitate Vietnamese students to study and conduct research, contributing to strengthening people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Expressing her honor in assuming her duties amidst a period of very positive relations between the two countries, with strong, effective, and balanced development of bilateral cooperation across all fields, Ambassador Gillian Bird conveyed greetings from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bui Thanh Son, and sincerely thanked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for their attention and support to the relations between the two countries in general and to the Ambassador personally and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam in particular.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son expressed confidence that, with her extensive experience in diplomacy, Ms. Gillian Bird will make important contributions to promoting the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to continue developing strongly, effectively, and substantively.

In response to Vietnam's determination to implement strategic breakthroughs, the Ambassador expressed admiration and affirmed Australia's readiness to support and accompany it, emphasizing that Vietnam's success is Australia's success. The Ambassador affirmed that Vietnam is a reliable partner playing an important role in the region and that Australia wishes to continue strengthening and enhancing its partnership with Vietnam.

Agreeing with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister's opinion that both sides need to translate high-level commitments into concrete cooperation projects and actions, the Ambassador pledged to cooperate closely with Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and localities to promote these areas, as well as prepare for upcoming high-level visits between the two countries.

Appreciating Australia's role, contributions, and commitment to Southeast Asia, including the South China Sea issue, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bui Thanh Son encouraged Australia to strengthen cooperation with Mekong Subregion countries to promote sustainable development.

Both sides agreed to support an approach based on international law and to contribute to peace, stability, and cooperation in the region and the world.

On this occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister reiterated the invitation to the Australian leaders to attend the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime in Hanoi in October 2025.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/pho-thu-tuong-bo-truong-ngoai-giao-bui-thanh-son-tiep-dai-su-australia-tai-viet-nam-gillian-bird-317948.html