Vietnam, Australia foster economic cooperation
VOV.VN - Vietnam and Australia will increase economic-trade-investment cooperation to fully tap into their potential and to realise their enhanced economic engagement strategy.
The agreement was reached during talks in Canberra on November 30 between Vuong Dinh Hue, chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, and Milton Dick, speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, and Sue Lines, president of the Australian Senate. Hue is in Canberra for an official visit to Australia at the invitations of the two leaders of the Australian parliament.
The two sides agreed that the legislatures of Vietnam and Australia will encourage and create conditions for goods exchange activities between the two countries, including opening the markets for each other’s agricultural products and fruits, and supporting businesses in seeking counterparts in each other’s markets.
House Speaker Milton Dick said the Australian parliament supports Australian businesses in increasing investment in Vietnam in areas where Australia has strengths such as renewable energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, finance - banking, manufacturing, services, education, tourism, hi-tech agriculture, climate change response, science - technology, supply chain maintenance, mining, and aviation.
Meanwhile, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue suggested that Australia create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to increase investment in Australia in the fields of agriculture, mining and aviation. He also suggested Australia accelerate the issuance of visas for Vietnamese agricultural workers, and support Vietnam in implementing the COP26 commitment, including energy transition.
The two sides acknowledged that for the first time two-way trade turnover beat the US$10 billion mark last year, hitting US$12.4 billion. The initial 10 months of this year alone saw bilateral trade fetch US$13.4 billion. As of September 2022, Australia had 577 investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$1.97 billion.
They agreed to enhance reciprocal visit exchanges and organize activities to mark 50 years of bilateral diplomacy in 2023. They also consented to accelerate the implementation of the Vietnam - Australia action program for 2020-2023, as well as other agreements. They underscored the importance of promoting cooperation in security - defense, agriculture, education - training, tourism, culture, and at the same time expanding cooperation in new fields such as climate change response, green growth, energy transition, digital transformation, and digital economy.
The two sides expressed satisfaction at their close coordination at international forums and organizations, including the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Hue on this occasion thanked Australia for supporting Vietnam in its role as vice president of the 77th United Nations General Assembly representing the Asia-Pacific region and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.
He also thanked Australia for increasing its ODA for Vietnam by 18% to AUD93 million in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, as well as actively supporting Vietnam in COVID-19 control by donating 26.4 million doses of vaccines and other medical equipment and supplies.
The two sides voiced their support for upgrading the Vietnam-Australia Strategic Partnership to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at an appropriate time when relevant procedures are completed.
They highly appreciated the effective cooperation between the two countries’ legislative bodies through regular visit exchanges and implementation of cooperation agreements, as well as their support at multilateral parliamentary forums. They agreed to maintain consultation, coordination and mutual support at regional and international parliamentary forums such as Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF).
Hue took the occasion to invite the two leaders of the Australian parliament to visit Vietnam.
After the talks, the Vietnamese National Assembly and Australian parliament signed a cooperation agreement for the next phase.