During the meeting, Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Hung Tam to Australia sincerely thanked Sharon Claydon, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, for enthusiastically continuing her role as Chair of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group of the 48th Parliament.

The ambassador expressed hope that the group would rapidly grow, recruit new members, and become one of the largest friendship groups in the Australian Parliament, making a positive contribution to the cooperation and ties between the two parliaments and the peoples of Vietnam and Australia.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam highlighted the important role of the Vietnamese community in Australia, a sizable electorate of more than 350,000 people, with numerous associations actively supporting the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including the Vietnamese Business Association in Australia, the Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals and Experts in Australia, as well as business and student associations across most Australian states.

For her part, Deputy Speaker Sharon Claydon praised the strong and increasingly dynamic Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, particularly in trade, investment, tourism, education, and people-to-people exchanges.

Claydon said she would continue compiling a list of new members for the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group who are interested in Vietnam and bilateral cooperation. She also emphasized her personal readiness to welcome high-level Vietnamese delegations to Australia and to plan visits to Vietnam alongside the group’s members.

She expressed interest in Vietnam’s socio-economic development, including the country’s efforts to streamline and modernize its state administrative apparatus.

Meanwhile, Andrew McLachlan, Deputy Chair of Senate Standing Committee on Publications, said he was honored to serve as Deputy Chair of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group of the 48th Parliament. He emphasized that alongside the rapid growth of Australia-Vietnam cooperation, ties between South Australia and Vietnam are also becoming stronger.

Senator McLachlan welcomed Vietnam’s position as the sixth-largest export market for South Australia, noted that around 3,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the state, and highlighted prominent achievements of individuals in the local Vietnamese community, including those serving as state legislators.

Other attending parliamentarians also praised the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, noting the substantial potential for further cooperation and expressing their willingness to contribute to boosting bilateral friendship and parliamentary cooperation

On the occasion, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam invited Deputy Speaker Claydon and other parliamentarians to enjoy traditional Vietnamese dishes and join a toast to the enduring friendship between Vietnam and Australia.

Vietnamese State leader seeks stronger collaboration vs Australia in many fields

State President Luong Cuong hosted a reception in Hanoi on October 25 for Australian Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite, who is in Vietnam to attend the Signing Ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention).