Việt Nam, Australia to enhance investment and trade

PM Phạm Minh Chính meets with President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Australia should strengthen economic cooperation, focusing on enhancing investment and trade promotion to reach a trade turnover of US$20 billion and double bilateral investment within the next three years.

This topic was addressed during a meeting between Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines on Tuesday, as part of her official visit to Việt Nam.

PM Chính welcomed and highly appreciated the Australian leader, noting that she is the first senior Australian official to visit Việt Nam since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024.

He expressed his delight at the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of Việt Nam-Australia relations, emphasising that the upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is the result of efforts by both sides over more than 50 years of diplomatic ties.

He also noted that this upgrade opens a new chapter in bilateral relations, marked by higher political trust and broader and deeper cooperation.

The Australian Senate President affirmed that Việt Nam is a key partner and that the Australian Government and Parliament prioritise their relationship with Việt Nam within Australia’s broader foreign policy in the region.

She highlighted the two nations shared many values and high strategic trust, stating that this serves as a foundation for further enhancing cooperation in the coming years.

PM Chính expressed gratitude for Australia’s ongoing, practical and effective cooperation projects that support Việt Nam in various fields, including defence and security, capacity building, science and technology, innovation and climate change.

He suggested that both sides actively work together to implement the high-level agreements reached and continue to deepen cooperation in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework.

PM Chính welcomed President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

PM Chính thanked Australia for its continued support in English language training for officers and for helping Việt Nam participate in United Nations peacekeeping missions.

Both leaders agreed to continue promoting dialogue, sharing information and enhancing mutual understanding and trust while deepening defence and security cooperation. They also discussed the potential for collaboration in new and promising areas such as the green economy, digital economy, the circular economy, digital transformation, science and technology and innovation.

The leaders also agreed to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities to further mutual understanding between the peoples of both countries.

Senate President Sue Lines affirmed that Australia always pays attention to and creates favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in her country. She acknowledged the request to facilitate visa issuance for Vietnamese citizens and students wishing to travel to Australia.

The two leaders noted that, given the increasingly complex and unpredictable regional and international situation, with emerging security and strategic challenges affecting the security and development environment of countries in the region, Việt Nam and Australia need to strengthen consultations, share information, assess and coordinate policies and closely cooperate in regional and international forums. This cooperation aims to contribute positively to building a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and prosperous Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region.

Senate President Sue Lines reaffirmed Australia’s consistent position on the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) issue, supporting Việt Nam’s and ASEAN’s principled stance on ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight and resolving disputes through peaceful means based on respect for international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). — VNS