Australian Governor-General hosts welcome ceremony for General Secretary, President To Lam in Canberra

A 21-gun salute was fired in honor of the top Vietnamese leader's state visit.

Following the welcome ceremony, General Secretary and President To Lam had a meeting with Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn and held talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Both sides witnessed the signing and exchange of cooperation documents.

Viet Nam and Australia officially established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1973. Since then, the two countries have built a strong relationship based on shared interests. Viet Nam is now regarded as one of Australia's most important partners.

The bilateral ties are currently experiencing their most dynamic period of development since the two countries elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024.

Australia is currently Viet Nam's seventh-largest trading partner, while Viet Nam has established itself as a dynamic trading partner for Australia in Southeast Asia.

In the first six months of 2026, the two-way trade reached US$8.1 billion, up nearly 22 percent year-on-year. Of the figure, Viet Nam's exports to Australia surged to US$3.8 billion, an increase of more than 25 percent, outpacing the country's average export growth rate. Meanwhile, Australia remains among Viet Nam's top 10 partners in terms of trade, tourism and official development assistance (ODA).

Alongside achievements in economic cooperation, defense and security cooperation between the two countries has also deepened, based on mutual trust and respect. Science, technology and education are emerging strongly as new drivers of the Viet Nam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The State visit by the Vietnamese leader To Lam to Australia is not only a milestone opening a new phase in bilateral relations, but also demonstrates the strategic vision and determination of the two countries' leaders to build increasingly effective Viet Nam-Australia relations on the basis of trust, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

The visit also represents an important step in implementing the foreign policy adopted at the 14th National Party Congress, helping concretize the policy of deepening relations with major partners towards a substantive, effective and sustainable manner./.