Australia’s Governor-General to pay official visit to Viet Nam next week

The visit will be made at the invitation of State President Luong Cuong.

According to the Embassy, the official visit will highlight Australia's trusted, deep and growing relationship with Viet Nam, underpinned by the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in March 2024.

In Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Governor-General will meet senior Vietnamese leaders to reaffirm the strength of the bilateral ties and celebrate shared priorities, including trade and investment, climate resilience, education and security.

The Governor-General will open the 2025 Viet Nam Australia Forum, focused on public sector excellence, visit Australian-supported development and education initiatives, and participate in events showcasing Australian investment in Viet Nam, including in banking and education. A meeting with Vietnamese peacekeepers will be a practical example of Australia's defence cooperation with Viet Nam.

The visit will celebrate the enduring people-to-people links between the two nations, including engagements with Vietnamese students of Australian institutions in Viet Nam and Australians of Vietnamese heritage making significant contributions across business, the community sector, culture and sport.

She will launch the Australia-Viet Nam Policy Institute Ha Noi node, a platform for policy discussions and partnerships to strengthen two-way trade and investment ties.

This visit builds on the momentum of recent high-level engagements between Australia and Viet Nam, including a visit to Ha Noi by Foreign Minister Penny Wong last month. It also follows the 80th anniversary of Viet Nam's National Day (September 2), a milestone for which Australia has offered warm congratulations.

The two nations established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1973 and became Comprehensive Strategic Partners in March 2024. Bilateral trade reached US$14.1 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent.

Currently, Australia is Viet Nam's 7th largest trading partner, while the Southeast Asian nation is among Australia's top 10 biggest partners.

As of the first half of this year, Australia has had 864 investment projects in Viet Nam with a total capital worth US$3.38 billion, focusing on manufacturing and processing industries, information and communications, and accommodation services.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam has poured US$551 million in 93 projects in Australia.

In terms of official development assistance (ODA), in recent March, Australia announced an ODA package for Viet Nam worth AUD 96.6 million (over US$63 million) for the 2025–2026 fiscal year.

Over the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Australia's total ODA for Viet Nam has hit more than AUD 3 billion (over US$1.97 billion).

Nearly 500,000 Australian tourists visited Viet Nam in 2024, making Australia one of Viet Nam's top 10 tourist source markets./.