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| At the reception (Photo: P.H) |
So said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member and HCMA President, during his reception for Ms Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Minister, on June 27.
During the reception, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang reviewed the achievements and effective cooperation programs between the two countries over the past time, emphasizing that in 2018, the relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a strategic partnership, helping the cooperation between the two countries develop more comprehensively, especially in economic cooperation. In the midst of numerous difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021, the two sides have made efforts to bring bilateral trade turnover to a record high, surpassing the threshold of USD12.4 billion for the first time, an increase of more than 49% over 2020. “This is a very impressive number,” he said.
He affirmed that the strategic partnership is concretized into economic cooperation and new fields, adapting to the requirements of growth based on innovation in science and technology, especially in digital transformation. This is a priority area of the Australian Government, meeting the practical development needs of Vietnam in the period of synchronous and comprehensive promotion of the renewal process.
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| Prof.Dr. Phan Xuan Thang gives a present to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. (Photo: P.H) |
According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, the cooperation programs and projects being implemented between the two sides are very meaningful to Vietnam. Typical is the implementation of the project bringing human rights content into educational curricula in the national education system, inviting Australian experts to teach extra-curricular topics at the HCMA’s political theory classes, or the results of joint research cooperation on the approach to women's institutions and the right to participate in leadership and management of Vietnamese women.
In addition, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang proposed to promote and expand a number of potential areas of cooperation such as innovation, green energy, digital transformation, and preventing and combating climate change.
For her part, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she hopes the cooperation would be further increased in the coming time, especially in increasing the ability for Vietnamese future leaders.
In addition to economics and human resources training, Ms. Penny Wong shared the two sides' interest in promoting cooperation in areas such as clean energy, climate change adaptation, environmental protection and gender equality.
Ms. Penny Wong affirmed that as Australia's new Foreign Minister, as well as personally, she will make every effort to deepen the strategic relationship between Vietnam and Australia.
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| Delegates at the debut of website of the Vietnam – Australia Center. (Photo: P.H) |
On the same day, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang and Minister Penny Wong attended the debut of website of the Vietnam – Australia Center.
Speaking at the debut ceremony, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang affirmed that the Vietnam-Australia Center is an important highlight in the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia. This is also a practical activity marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (February 26, 1973-February 26, 2022).
The center will contribute to helping Vietnam access Australian knowledge, skills and professional experience in the fields of training and scientific research, helping to increase understanding and deepen the cooperative relationship between the two countries in general, as well as expanding the cooperation in training and scientific research between the HCMA, the highest educational institution of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, and its Australian partners./.