Vietnam is ready to enter a new phase of cooperation with Australia.

After the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with the press - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

On the morning of June 4, after the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a press meeting.

New impetus for the Vietnam - Australia Strategic Partnership to develop to new heights

Speaking here, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once again warmly welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to his official visit to Vietnam.

The Australian Prime Minister's visit is of great significance, taking place in the year the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1973-2023) and the 5th anniversary of the strategic partnership (2018-2023), creating new momentum for the Vietnam - Australia strategic partnership to develop to new heights in the coming time.

The two Prime Ministers said that they had just had a very successful meeting. In the spirit of openness, frankness, sincerity and trust, the two sides comprehensively reviewed all areas of cooperation and were pleased to see that the bilateral relationship is developing well and effectively, moving towards a better future.

Political trust, understanding and mutual respect are increasingly strengthened through regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts.

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 fields of UN peacekeeping, combating transnational crimes and cybercrime. Cooperation in education and training, agriculture, tourism, culture, labor, science and technology, innovation, etc. has achieved many positive results with many very 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.

During the press conference, the two Prime Ministers said that in the spirit of openness, frankness, sincerity and trust, during the talks, the two sides comprehensively reviewed all areas of cooperation and were pleased to see that the relationship between the two countries is developing well and effectively, towards a better future - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Striving to bring two-way trade turnover to 20 billion USD

The two Prime Ministers agreed on directions to promote future cooperation to enhance political trust, contribute to the recovery and socio-economic development of each country as well as effectively coordinate in responding to global challenges.

Firstly, further enhance political trust through delegation exchanges, high-level and all-level contacts, and deploy bilateral cooperation mechanisms; continue to deepen the content of the Strategic Partnership towards a new height in the coming time.

Second, further promote the substantive results in defense and security cooperation; actively discuss to soon sign the Agreement on peacekeeping partnership between the two countries; closely cooperate in preventing transnational crimes, cyber crimes and other types of crimes.

Third, promote the implementation of the Vietnam - Australia Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) Implementation Plan for the 2021 - 2025 period, striving to bring two-way trade turnover to 20 billion USD in the coming time and double the current two-way investment level.

Strengthening connectivity between the two economies, including hard connections in transportation and soft connections such as finance, banking, and e-commerce; encouraging 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.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked Australia for identifying Vietnam as a central role in Australia's strategy with ASEAN countries - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Fourth, promote cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries, encourage major Australian universities to develop operations in Vietnam to support Vietnam in training high-quality human resources, one of Vietnam's three strategic breakthroughs.

Fifth, further strengthen cooperation in tourism, cultural exchange and people-to-people exchanges; agree to discuss and sign an agreement on tourism cooperation.

Vietnam requests that Australia continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Australia to successfully integrate, make practical contributions to Australia's socio-economic development and become a bridge of friendship in the bilateral relationship.

Sixth, expand cooperation in responding to climate change, digital transformation, and green transformation. Australia will support Vietnam in its energy transition to help Vietnam achieve its commitment to net zero emissions.

The two sides agreed to soon sign a cooperation document in the fields of digital transformation and digital economy, digital society, digital technology, and digital citizens.

Seventh, 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, ensure ASEAN's central role; strengthen cooperation within the framework of Mekong Sub-region mechanisms, in promoting investment and cooperation with ASEAN.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked Australia for identifying Vietnam as a central role in Australia's strategy with ASEAN countries.

Eighth, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of respect for international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, ensuring security, safety, aviation and navigation in the East Sea. The two sides agreed to continue to maintain exchanges, information sharing and enhance maritime cooperation.

"We are very grateful to the Australian Government and people for providing a lot of financial aid for rapid and sustainable development in Vietnam during the Prime Minister's visit in a number of areas," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized: Promoting the achievements of 50 years of good relations, Vietnam is ready to join Australia in a new phase of cooperation, together bringing the Strategic Partnership to a new level, practical and effective, for the practical benefits of the people of the two countries, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that Vietnam has developed strongly and become a country with leading production capacity in the world, "a manufacturing powerhouse" - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: Vietnam has become "a manufacturing powerhouse"

For his part, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his pleasure to visit Hanoi on a visit that would contribute to deepening the relationship between the two countries. Australia was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam after the 1973 Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam.

According to the Australian Prime Minister, after 50 years, Vietnam has developed strongly and become a country with leading production capacity in the world, "a manufacturing powerhouse".

During that process, Australia has provided Vietnam with a lot of support, especially in infrastructure, clean water, human resource training... He mentioned the two My Thuan and Cao Lanh bridges in the Mekong Delta and affirmed that these are symbols of the friendship between the two countries.

Emphasizing a number of areas of cooperation, the Australian Prime Minister said that at the talks, the two sides exchanged directions to contribute to solving challenges related to climate change.

On this occasion, the Australian Prime Minister announced support of 105 million Australian dollars for Vietnam for cooperation in climate change response, energy transition and infrastructure.

At the same time, Australia will also expand its program to conduct joint research in applied agriculture with Vietnam.

The Australian Prime Minister also affirmed that education and people-to-people exchange are very important areas of cooperation in the relationship between the two countries.

During the visit, RMIT University announced the next phase of its commitment to Vietnam, including a $250 million strategic investment fund and the first operational product of the fund, the RMIT Innovation and Business Engagement Centre in Hanoi. RMIT will also expand its Ho Chi Minh City campus.

On this occasion, Western Sydney University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding on granting 70 scholarships to Vietnamese and regional students to study at Western Sydney University's campus in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his delight at the launch of a new direct flight between Vietnam and Australia by Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appreciated the role of the 350,000-strong Vietnamese community in Australia, expressed his delight at the launch of Vietjet Air's direct Ho Chi Minh City - Brisbane flight and the announcement of Vietnam Airlines' Hanoi - Melbourne - Hanoi flight.

"We welcome the new routes to Australia, especially as Vietjet's route is the first to connect Vietnam with the beautiful Australian city of Brisbane, which will host the 2032 Olympics," said Mr. Anthony Albanese.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese respectfully invited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to soon visit Australia and attend the Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations in 2024.

According to the Australian Prime Minister, the above cooperation contents play an important role for the two sides to strengthen bilateral cooperation and in multilateral forums, towards upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, becoming friends and leading partners of each other, towards the next 50 years in the bilateral relationship with many more achievements and better results.

Vietnam is central to Australia's strategic relationship with Southeast Asia.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-viet-nam-san-sang-cung-australia-buoc-vao-chang-duong-hop-tac-moi-151810.html