Australian Governor-General to begin Vietnam visit today
VOV.VN - The Governor-General of Australia Gen. David Hurley is scheduled to arrive in Hanoi on April 3, beginning a four-day State-level visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong.
During the April 3-6 trip, Governor-General Hurley will hold talks with President Thuong, and meet with senior Vietnamese leaders, including Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.
He is scheduled to attend a variety of events to mark 50 years of bilateral diplomacy between Vietnam and Australia.
The strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia has developed substantially over the years through reciprocal visit exchanges, helping to increase political trust and ramp up multifaceted cooperation.
Notably, bilateral cooperation mechanisms including the 2020-2023 Plan of Action for the Vietnam –Australia Strategic Partnership have yielded positive results. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade between the two countries last year reached US$16.1 billion, up 30.3% year on year. Currently, Australia is Vietnam’s seventh largest trading partner, while Vietnam is Australia’s 10th largest trading partner.
As of December 2022, Australia had 562 investment projects valued at US$1.97 billion in Vietnam, ranking 20th among 139 foreign investors in the country.
Bilateral cooperation in security and defense has also yielded significant gains through the exchange of delegations and the signing of agreements. Notably, Australia has four times moved Vietnam’s field hospital to the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
In addition, the two countries have also strengthened cooperation in education-training, agriculture, and tourism among other fields. Australia has over the years provided its official development assistance (ODA) in a stable manner, while assisting Vietnam in the COVID-19 fight, as well as in climate change response, digital transformation and energy transition.
Australia has an important voice at multilateral forums, therefore making an effective contribution to cooperation in ASEAN and the Mekong Sub-region. It supports Vietnam at regional and international forums, including the UN Human Rights Council,
The two countries also coordinates closely in addressing regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea issue.
