Australia considers Vietnam a close, strategic partner: Ambassador Goledzinowski
VOV.VN - Australia considers Vietnam a close, strategic partner and a good friend, Ambassador Andrew Goledzinowski told Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang at the Government headquarters in Hanoi on March 14.
Meeting with the Vietnamese Government official, the Ambassador announced Australia has decided to increase the official development assistance (ODA) capital for Vietnam by 18% to AUD92.8 million in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, hoping more projects would be undertaken in the country.
Deputy PM Tran Luu Quang for his part highly appreciated the Australian Government’s decision, and noted the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia are developing vigorously and substantially in various fields.
He cited statistics, saying two-way trade last year hit US$16.1 billion, up more than 30 times compared to 2021, making Australia the 10th largest trading partner for Vietnam, and Vietnam the seventh largest trading partner for Australia.
Regarding investment, Australia has 579 projects in Vietnam with a total investment capital of nearly US$2 billion, ranking 20th out of 141 countries and territories investing in the country, while Vietnam has 87 investment projects worth US$540 million in Australia.
Australia has four times helped Vietnam move the level 2 field hospital to South Sudan, supported English training, and donated some equipment to the field hospital, while supporting capacity building for the Vietnamese peacekeeping force through training courses.
Australia has also donated 26.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, making it the second largest vaccine donor to Vietnam.
Cooperation in the fields of security - defense, agriculture, labour and education have all yielded encouraging results, said the Deputy PM.
The Deputy PM suggested that the two sides work closely to well organize activities to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Australia this year, including delegation exchanges between the two countries in the coming months.
At the meeting, both host and guest emphasized the importance of ensuring peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the wider world, including respecting the Charter of the United Nations and international law.