Australia expects to lift up ties with Viet Nam to comprehensive strategic partnership

Anthony Albanese expressed the aspiration while meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related summits in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday.

He underlined that Australia attaches great importance to enhancing relations with Viet Nam. He wished to welcome Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to Australia soon.

Australia commits to prioritizing official development assistance (ODA) to Viet Nam, especially in areas of Viet Nam’s need such as climate change adaptation, energy transition, digital transformation, and digital economy.

The Australian Prime Minister acknowledged his counterpart’s proposals regarding increased labor cooperation, education and training, and provision of more scholarships to Vietnamese students.

The two sides agreed to continue working closely together and making active contributions to promoting dialogue, cooperation and trust building through ASEAN-led mechanisms, on the basis of respect for ASEAN's central role and consultations with ASEAN, for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

The pair promised to continue supporting ASEAN's efforts to minimize the development gap and assist less-developed regions, including the Mekong sub-region.

The two countries also agreed to partner with Laos to successfully organize the Climate Change and Energy Transition Conference in Ha Noi later this year.

The Australian Prime Minister took the occasion to reiterate his invitation to Prime Minister Pham to visit Australia and attend the ASEAN-Australia Commemorative Summit in March 2024. Prime Minister Chinh accepted the invitation with pleasure./.