Outgoing Australian Ambassador hailed for contributions to ties with Vietnam: PM

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on December 27 receives Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski. (Photo: VNA)

Receiving the Ambassador who came to bid farewell, PM Pham Minh Chinh said he hopes the Ambassador will continue to support the bilateral ties in various fields.

The PM expressed his gratitude for Australia's cooperation and support with Vietnam over the years, especially the provision of COVID-19 vaccines and human resources training during difficult times.

Both host and guest were pleased with the important developments in Vietnam-Australia relations over the past year. The two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, reflecting high strategic trust and opening up significant cooperation opportunities in the future.

The two countries maintained high-level visits and contacts, held dialogue mechanisms between ministries, and signed an action programme implementing the comprehensive strategic partnership for the 2024-2027 period.

As of November, two-way trade turnover hit 13 billion USD, up 2.9% from the same period last year. In 2023, the trade value was 13.8 billion USD. As of the end of August, Australia had run 660 projects with total investment of 1.05 billion USD in Vietnam, ranking 21st out of 149 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

Highlighting results of the two countries’ cooperation, particularly in trade, investment, climate change response, and energy transition, PM Pham Minh Chinh said he believes that there is rooms for Vietnam and Australia to further develop in the coming time.

Vietnam wishes to continue enhancing cooperation and learning from Australia’s development experience, he said.

He suggested both sides continue maintaining high-level visits and meetings across channels and promoting people-to-people exchange, tourism and educational cooperation, as well as expand RMIT University in Vietnam. He called on Australia to provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students.

Highlighting defence cooperation as a bright spot in the bilateral relations, the PM proposed further deepening this cooperation through training and exchange, cybersecurity collaboration, peacekeeping partnership, and cooperation in addressing war legacies.

Regarding economic-trade-investment cooperation, the PM suggested continuing to enhance market access for each other’s products and promoting stronger investment from Australian investors in Vietnam.

Considering science-technology cooperation, innovation, and climate change as new pillars in the comprehensive strategic partnership, PM Chinh urged the Australian side to enhance cooperation and support in digital transformation, green growth, and the development of key industries such as semiconductors, AI, energy transition, and building infrastructure for energy transition.

For his part, Ambassador Goledzinowski said he will remember the time he worked in Vietnam and return to Vietnam, adding that he will make contributions to the bilateral relations, especially in the areas mentioned by the Prime Minister.

Affirming Australia’s strong interest in relationship between the two countries, the Ambassador noted that the bilateral relations have rapidly developed.

He said said that Australia wishes to be Vietnam's number one partner in various fields, such as agriculture, technology, green energy transition, rare minerals, and further strengthen security and defence cooperation.

He praised Vietnam’s new development mindset for the new era and expressed his confidence that Vietnamese leaders will realise the country's developmental potential, and Vietnam will enter into a new era, becoming a new tiger of Asia./.