Australian Senate President begins official visit to Vietnam

Those welcoming the delegation at Noi Bai International Airport included Hoang Thanh Tung, chairman of the NA Committee on Legal Affairs, Hoang Thanh Tung, chairman of the NA Committee for Legal Affairs, and Le Thu Ha, chairman of the Vietnam - Australia Friendship Parliamentarians' Group and vice chairwoman of the NA Committee for Foreign Affairs.

The Australian politician is notable for being the first female Labor Senate President and became the second female President, after Liberal Senator Margaret Reid, in 1996.

Senate President Lines' first official visit to the nation in her new role is taking place amid the positive development of the Vietnam - Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The ongoing visit is therefore of great significance, marking a journey of more than 50 years through both nations’ diplomatic relations as a contribution to deepening and further substantively fostering ties between the two legislative bodies.

This relationship is viewed as an important pillar in the Vietnam - Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, thereby meeting the aspirations and practical interests of the two countries’ people for the causes of peace, stability, co-operation, and development in the region and around the world.

Both sides established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1973. Over the past five decades the joint relationship has been increasingly consolidated and comprehensively strengthened through the mutual support offered by the two economies; the similarity of interests; as well as the common vision of an open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific and the deep connection between the two peoples.

The two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership back in 2009 which was then upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2018. In particular, in March this year within the framework of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Australia, the two countries announced the upgrade of their relationship to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, thereby opening a new phase in bilateral ties.

Along with the positive developments recorded in bilateral relations, co-operation between the two legislative bodies has been continuously expanded and put into practice on both bilateral and multilateral levels, making important contributions to the overall bilateral relationship.

As planned, Senate President Lines will attend an official welcome ceremony, hold talks with NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man, meet with PM Chinh, and pay a courtesy visit to Party General Secretary and President To Lam.

She is scheduled to attend the Vietnam - Australia Forum, pay floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum, hold working sessions in a number of Vietnamese localities in Vietnam, and engage in other sideline activities.