Prime Minister Le Minh Hung meets Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Manila

Prime Minister Le appreciated the warm welcome and thoughtful hospitality that the Government and people of Australia extended to General Secretary and President of Viet Nam oTo Lam during his State visit to Australia in August of this year, saying the visit created new driving force and shaping new directions for the bilateral ties.

Le took the occasion to invite Prime Minister Albanese to soon visit Viet Nam, and attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Week, and the 4^th ASEAN Future Forum in 2027.

Le suggested Australia continue stable energy supply to Viet Nam while expanding cooperation in high technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, marine research, and hydrogen. He reaffirmed Viet Nam's commitment to creating a favorable legal environment for Australian investors to do long-term business in the Southeast Asian nation.

He took the occasion to thank Australia for assisting Viet Nam in deploying peacekeeping forces to the United Nations missions, and urged both sides to effectively implement the signed agreements in defense and peacekeeping areas.

In reply, Prime Minister Albanese thanked the Vietnamese counterpart for the invitation, affirming that Australia stands ready to coordinate with, support and assist Viet Nam as the APEC host.

Albanese reaffirmed that Viet Nam plays an important role in Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, saying that his country encourages its enterprises and investment funds to seek opportunities in Viet Nam.

Australia attaches importance to defense cooperation with Viet Nam, said Albanese.

The two Prime Ministers agreed to step up cooperation in highly potential areas like science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation; enhance consultation at multilateral mechanisms like ASEAN, UN, and APEC.

They reiterated their support for ASEAN centrality and efforts to help Myanmar soon find solutions to overcome difficulties. The pair also underscored the importance of ensuring maritime security, safety, and freedom; promoting the formulation of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS1982), and working together to contribute to peace, stability, and cooperation in the region and the world.

The same day, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung met with Lao Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to discuss ways to boost cooperation with these countries./.