Top legislator arrives in Canberra, starting official visit to Australia
VGP - National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his encourage arrived in Canberra on November 29 evening (local time), starting four-day official visit to Australia.
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue arrives in Canberra, November 30, 2022
The delegation were welcomed at the airport by Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh, Deputy President of the Australian Senate Andrew McLachlan, and officials from the Australian House of Representatives and the Foreign Ministry.
During the visit, the top Vietnamese legislator is set to hold talks with President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Milton Dick on November 30.
NA Chairman Hue (second, R) is greeted by Australian officials (Photo: VNA)
NA Chairman Vuong will have bilateral meetings with senior Australian leaders, ministers and state governors; attend the Viet Nam - Australia forums on education and economic cooperation.
He will also meet with students who are learning in Australia, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the country.
Australia is a strategic partner of Viet Nam in the South Pacific region. The relationship between the two countries is growing robustly across various areas partly thanks to maintenance of bilateral cooperation mechanisms in both face-to-face and online formats.
Two-way trade has increased remarkably despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, to US$12.4 billion in 2021 and US$12 billion in the first nine months of 2022, representing year-on-year increases of nearly 50 percent and 31.5 percent, respectively.
Australia has sustained official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam. On October 25, Australia announced its budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, under which the country will increase ODA for Viet Nam to AUD 92.8 million compared to AUD 78.9 million in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Viet Nam and Australia will celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2023.
Australia has expressed its wish to elevate the relations with Viet Nam to comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of Vuong's visit.
