Sydney  (VNA) – The South Australia - VietnamBusiness Council held a ceremony in Adelaide city on February 28 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam - Australia diplomatic relations.

In her speech, Governor of South Australia Frances Adamsonsaid: “There is a strengthening of the partnershipbetween Australia and Vietnam when it comes to meeting some of the geopoliticalchallenges in the region, and this presents an opportunity to pursue furthercultural and economic ties as well.”

She was extremely positive not only on the existingrelationship between the two countries but how bothsides can enhance it in years to come.

The Governor said she looks forward to seeing thetwo countries work towards the common goal of growing bilateral ties, and indoing so, supporting the prosperity and the stability of the region.

“Since diplomatic relations began between our twocountries in 1973, Australia and Vietnam have maintained a great friendship. Thelast 50 years have seen our relationship go from strength to strength. Together, we have ongoing constructive engagement on topics such as defense, education,agriculture and trade,” Nick Champion, Minister for Trade and Investment of SouthAustralia, told the event.

He noted South Australia has and continues toplay an important part in Australia and Vietnam’s trade and investmentrelationship.

The value of goods imported from Vietnam in the12 months to December 2022 was up 29% from the previous year to 183.2 millionAUD (nearly 124 million USD). Prawns, pasta, paper, insulators and conductorswere the top imports into South Australia.  

South Australian goods exports to Vietnam increasedby 7% during the same period to 428.5 million AUD. Refined copper, malt, animalfeed and wine were the top exports from the state. 
  
Since 2003, South Australia has contributed 47million AUD in foreign investment to Vietnam, Champion said, adding it hasgreatly benefited from the many Vietnamese students coming to study at its universities.

In the 12 months to November 2022, more than 2,200students chose to further their education by enrolling in the state’s educationsector. 

 Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia NguyenTat Thanh underlined the flourishing bilateral relations over the last fivedecades, even before they were upgraded to a strategic partnership. He said thatthe Southeast Asian nation stays steadfast in its consistent foreign policy.

He highlighted Australia’s assistance forVietnam in any circumstances, reaching 3 billion AUD in total officialdevelopment assistance. Besides, bilateral trade and investment links have beengrowing strongly, especially with the implementation of the two countries’enhanced economic engagement strategy.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, President of the SouthAustralia - Vietnam Business Council Francis Wong said many Australiancompanies now view Vietnam as a centre of the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) and Asia. Many that haven’t come to Vietnam are willing toexplore the local business environment.

To further facilitate business partnerships, he expressed hishope that the two countries will open more direct flights from Vietnam toAdelaide to connect South Australia with big cities of Vietnam./.