Hanoi (VNA) – The Embassy of Australiaheld a meeting in Hanoi on February 24 evening to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam -Australia diplomatic ties (February 26, 1973 - 2023).

In his remarks, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam AndrewGoledzinowski affirmed that establishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam was one of the first foreign policies of the Australian government led by PrimeMinister Gough Whitlam.

The year 1973 also marked the opening of the AustralianEmbassy in Hanoi, which has served as a bridge of cooperation between the twocountries, he said.

Mentioning milestones in the bilateral relations, thediplomat said Australia was one of the pioneers in investing in Vietnam rightafter the Southeast Asian nation opened its economy in the 1980s, with thepresence of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), RMITUniversity, and Telstra - Australia's leading telecommunications and technologycompany.

He also highlighted fruitful cooperation between the twocountries in education, national defence and security, agriculture, culture andtourism.

Present at the ceremony, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign AffairsBui Thanh Son noted that since the establishment of the diplomatic ties, theVietnam-Australia relationship has been developing sustainably and rapidly.

In 2009, the two countries elevated the relationshipto a comprehensive partnership, and issued a joint statement on theestablishment of a strategic partnership in 2018, the minister said.

Vietnam and Australia have become reliable partners ofeach other both bilaterally and multilaterally, he stressed.

They are also among the top ten trading partners of each other,with two-way trade hitting 15.7 billion USD last year, doubling the figurerecorded before 2018, he said, adding that Australia’s official developmentassistance (ODA) has significantly contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economicdevelopment.

The bilateral collaboration in national defence and security,agriculture, labour and climate change response has been expanded, benefitingboth sides, according to the minister.

Son also highlighted people-to-people exchanges andcooperation in education and tourism, saying people-to-people exchanges willcreate a good premise for the bilateral relationship to grow further in the time to come.

Vietnam has received Australia’s support in itsefforts to run for seats at international organisations, with the most recentlythe United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 tenure, he continued.

The Royal Australian Air Force also helped to carry Vietnamese soldiers to Africafor UN peacekeeping missions, the minister added.

Son expressed his belief with reciprocal economies,great potential of each country and increasing political trust, theVietnam-Australia relationship will be advanced to a new height, for the sake oftheir people and for an Asia-Pacific region of peace, cooperation andprosperity./.