Vietnam and Australia mark 50 years of diplomacy in Melbourne
VOV.VN - A ceremony was held in Melbourne city on April 28 to celebrate 50 years of bilateral diplomacy between Vietnam and Australia and examine future development trends for bilateral relations.
Addressing the ceremony, the Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Assistant Minister for Trade of Australia, Tim Ayres, noted that the two countries have a lot in common, including their shared commitment to building a stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous world, especially in Southeast Asia, which is considered a top priority of the Australian Government.
The joint implementation of concrete and tangible actions will help the two countries seize cooperation opportunities in the fields of economy, trade, and education, he stressed, adding 350,000 Vietnamese Australians have made a practical contribution to a multicultural and modern Australia.
In hí speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh reviewed major milestones in Vietnam – Australia relations, saying the two countries have established the strategic partnership built upon their friendly relations five decades ago.
According to the diplomat, the two countries have maintained regular reciprocal visit exchanges, including the most recent trips to Vietnam by Australian Governor-General David Hurley and Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, helping to enhance bilateral cooperation in all fields.
Two-way trade between the two countries has witnessed spectacular growth, increasing by 20% per year in the 2018-2022 period. With bilateral trade hitting a record of AUD23.5 billion last year, Australia became Vietnam’s seventh largest trading partner, and Vietnam became Australia’s 10th largest trading partner.
Australia has also emerged as one of the leading overseas education markets for Vietnamese students. Over the past 22 years, Australia’s RMIT University in Vietnam has assisted the Government of Vietnam in generating a skilled workforce for Vietnam to realize its development strategies.
Vietnam considers Australia an important partner in its foreign policy in the coming years and it believes that together with Australia, the two countries will contribute more to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region, said the ambassador.
Participating delegates all expected Vietnam and Australia would soon upgrade their strategic partnership, creating a premise for strengthening trust as well as joint efforts to bring great benefits for the people of the two countries and contribute to stability, peace and prosperity in the region and the wider world.