ASEAN, Australia need to double trade volume over next decade
VGP – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested ASEAN and Australia double efforts to make breakthroughs in economic-trade-investment, human resource development, and scientific and technological and innovation cooperation while addressing the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia, March 6, 2024. Photo: VGP
On economic front, Prime Minister Pham urged ASEAN and Australia to strive to double trade volume over the next decade. Australia is now one of the major economic partners of ASEAN, with the two-way trade value amounting to US$101.08 billion in 2022, greater than Australia's two-way trade with Japan, the U.S. or the EU.
Australia is a signatory to the AANZFTA - a comprehensive and single-undertaking free trade agreement and a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECEP) - a regional free trade agreement between Australia and 14 other Indo-Pacific countries.
Prime Minister Pham said ASEAN and Australia should promptly establish consultation mechanisms to discuss concrete measures to boost human resource development and labor cooperation.
With regard to science, technology and innovation, Pham suggested cooperation should focus on such fronts like digital economy, green transition, circular economy, semiconductor and artificial intelligence. He proposed that ASEAN and Australia should mull over the possibility of negotiating an agreement on digital economy./.
