Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese successfully concludes official visit to Vietnam

On the evening of June 4, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian delegation left Hanoi , successfully concluding an official visit to Vietnam from June 3-4, 2023.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with children in the capital at the official welcoming ceremony. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

During his visit to Vietnam, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had many important activities such as: Laying wreaths and visiting President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum; attending the official welcoming ceremony; holding talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; exchanging documents; meeting the press. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. On this occasion, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited and exchanged with the Australian and Vietnamese women's football teams; attending the official reception. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also had some sideline activities such as: Enjoying banh mi and draft beer in Hanoi's Old Quarter; visiting RMIT University. The high-level meetings within the framework of the visit all took place in a spirit of openness, frankness, sincerity and trust. The leaders of both sides were pleased to see that the relationship between the two countries is developing well and effectively. Political trust, understanding and mutual respect have been increasingly strengthened through regular high-level delegation exchanges and contacts between leaders and people of the two countries. Economic and trade cooperation has become a bright spot in bilateral relations with two-way trade turnover in 2022 reaching nearly 16 billion USD, an increase of nearly 30% compared to 2021. Security and defense cooperation is increasingly effective and substantive, especially in the field of United Nations peacekeeping. Cooperation in education - training, agriculture, tourism, culture, labor, science - technology, innovation, etc. has achieved positive results with many effective cooperation programs and projects. The two countries also share a common vision for a peaceful, stable, open and inclusive Indo- Pacific region; valuing the central role of ASEAN.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pose for a photo at the talks. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

The two sides agreed on directions for promoting future cooperation to enhance political trust, contribute to the recovery of each country's socio-economic development as well as effectively coordinate in responding to global challenges. Accordingly, the two sides will further enhance political trust through delegation exchanges, high-level and all-level contacts, and implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms; continue to deepen the content of the Strategic Partnership towards a new height in the coming time; further promote the substantive results in defense-security cooperation, actively discuss to soon sign the Agreement on Peacekeeping Partnership; closely cooperate in preventing transnational crimes, cyber crimes and other crimes... The two sides agreed to promote the implementation of the Vietnam - Australia Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) for the 2021 - 2025 period, striving to bring the two-way trade turnover to 20 billion USD soon in the coming time and double the current two-way investment level; strengthen connectivity between the two economies, including hard connections in transportation, soft connections such as finance, banking, e-commerce; encourage the business communities of the two countries to increase investment in each country. Australia continues to facilitate Vietnamese agricultural products to enter the Australian market to balance trade. The two sides also agreed to promote cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries, encourage major Australian universities to develop activities in Vietnam to support and cooperate with Vietnam in training high-quality human resources - one of the three strategic breakthroughs of Vietnam; further strengthen cooperation in tourism, cultural exchange and people-to-people exchanges; agree to discuss and sign a cooperation agreement on tourism. The two sides agreed to expand cooperation in responding to climate change, digital transformation, green transformation and circular economy development. Australia will support Vietnam in the energy transition to help Vietnam achieve its commitment to net zero emissions.

Vietnam and Australia continue to coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms; promote dialogue, build trust, encourage countries to dialogue and cooperate for common goals, ensuring ASEAN's central role; strengthen cooperation within the framework of the Mekong Sub-region mechanisms in promoting investment; Australia identifies Vietnam as playing a central role in ASEAN. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of respect for international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS. In the coming time, the two sides agreed to continue promoting cooperation areas, especially in addressing challenges related to security and climate change. Australia will support Vietnam in energy transition, including providing Vietnam with 105 million AUD for sustainable development planning, clean energy development and mining; expanding the support program for Vietnam in the agricultural sector. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese witnessed the exchange ceremony of four bilateral cooperation documents, including: Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology on cooperation in science, technology and innovation; Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the establishment of the Vietnam-Australia Ministerial Dialogue on Trade;

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the establishment of a Vietnam-Australia Ministerial Trade Dialogue. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

Memorandum of Understanding between the State Bank of Vietnam and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) on Cooperation in the Exchange of Financial Intelligence Relating to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing; Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) on the provision of 70 scholarships for Vietnamese and regional students to study at the UWS campus in Vietnam. In the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Vietnam Airlines received the certificate and announced the launch of the Hanoi - Melbourne route. Vietjet Air received the certificate and announced the direct flight connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Brisbane (Australia). The official visit to Vietnam by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from June 3-4, 2023 continues to contribute to strengthening political trust and promoting multi-faceted cooperation such as politics - diplomacy, defense - security, economy, investment, labor, education, technology, climate change, people-to-people exchange... between Vietnam and Australia.

Thu Phuong (Vietnam News Agency)