Sydney (VNA) - The Australia - Vietnam Business Council (AVBC)hosted a 25th Anniversary Dinner at the Boulevard Hotel in Sydney on April 28, wheremembers and partners took part in matching activities and shared ideas,experience, and business opportunities.

In his welcoming remarks, AVBC President and Co-founder Laurence Stranosaid the celebrations not only look back on the council’s 25-year history butalso reflect on the stronger-than-ever relations between Vietnam and Australia,contributed to by the business communities of both sides.

Discussing the AVBC’s history, Strano said that since its inception in1996 it has contributed to connecting, exchanging, and promoting business andinvestment opportunities between Vietnamese and Australian companies. Inaddition to a headquarters in Sydney, it has two representative offices in the statesof Queensland and Western Australia, he noted.

Vietnamese-Australians and AVBC members have helped bridge culturaldifferences and enhance mutual understanding between the two countries’business communities, thereby facilitating and boosting bilateral trade, he added.

He also stated that the council will focus its efforts on beefing upcooperation between the two sides’ enterprises in the fields of digitaltechnology, emerging technology, digital transformation, education, businessdevelopment, public relations and media, sports, healthcare, housing, andcommercial building development.

Deputy Consul General of Vietnam in Sydney Nguyen Phu Hoa, for his part,highlighted Vietnam - Australia economic ties over recent years. Despite the impactof COVID-19, two-way trade rose nearly 4 percent to 10 billion AUD (about 8billion USD) last year, said Hoa, who is also head of the Vietnamese TradeOffice in Australia. In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam’s imports fromAustralia stood at 3.4 billion AUD, up 33.7 percent year-on-year.

Australian investors in Vietnam can not only access a market of nearly100 million people but also other foreign markets, as the latter is now a memberof 17 free trade agreements and has joined a number of economic and tradepartnership frameworks with many foreign countries, he added.

Bui Viet Khoi from the Embassy of Vietnam in Australia said Vietnam hasset a goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045 and to this end will needexpertise, funding, and close cooperation from Australian businesses over thenext 25 years.

He emphasised that the embassy will continue acting as a bridge tofoster business partnerships and technology transfer between the two countries.

Vietnam and Australia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomaticties in 2023./.