Hanoi (VNA)- The Australian Government continues considering Vietnam one of key partnersin Asia Pacific, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Vietnamese DeputyPrime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

During their talks in Hanoi on May 28, FM Bishop added the government wants tofurther bolster the relations both in bilateral framework and at regional andglobal forums.

The two officials highly valued the organisation of the first Vietnam-AustraliaForeign Ministers Meeting, saying this is one of first important steps toimplement the freshly-established Strategic Partnership between the twocountries. The first meeting was co-chaired by the two FMs in Hanoi on May 28.

They expressed their pleasures at the strong development of the bilateral tieswhile affirming the importance of upgrading the relations to the StrategicPartnership on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s recent visitto Australia.

Deputy PM and FM Minh spoke highly of outcomes of the recent State visit toVietnam by Governor-General of Australia Peter Cosgrove on May 23-26, affirmingthe trip’s contributions to strengthening friendship between the two peoples.

The two officials stressed the need to push economic, trade and investment cooperationbetween Vietnam and Australia, saying this should be the focus of theirStrategic Partnership.

They agreed to reinforce political and strategic trust, and deepen cooperationacross fields between the two countries, while affirming determination fullytap potential and strengths of each country as well as address difficulties andchallenges, form more mechanisms for dialogue and information sharing, andpromote cooperation in the fields that have positive and direct impacts on theenhancement of friendship and people-to-people exchange such as education,culture, sport and tourism.

The Vietnamese leader highly valued Australia for its provision of officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, which is the third largest level inSoutheast Asia.

He suggested the two sides continue their cooperation to ensure the effectiveimplementation of ODA projects in Vietnam, thus practically contributing to theSoutheast Asian nation’s socio-economic development.

Bishop, for her part, affirmed Australia will continue to closely coordinate andsupport Vietnam in joining UN peacekeeping operations, and in improvingVietnam’s ability in ensuring marine security and safety.

Both officials also discussed regional and global issues of shared concern,agreeing on the close coordination and mutual support in regional andinternational forums, especially the UN, ASEAN, theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and the East Asia Summit (EAS).

Bishop affirmed Australia supports the solidarity and central role of ASEAN inthe region, has a consistent view in the East Sea issue and continues makingcontriubtions to strategic security issues in the region.

Minh said Vietnam will support Australia in expanding links with other ASEANmember nations, and in performing the Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), andactivities and initiatives of APEC Year 2018 hosted by Papua New Guinea.

Minh and Bishop also expressed their joy at the fruitful cooperation betweenthe two foreign ministries in recent times, and agreed that they will continueto closely cooperate in organising activities celebrating the 45th anniversaryof Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties. They also agreed to enhance exchange of high-rankingvisits and meetings, and implement newly-formed bilateral cooperation mechanisms,including the Economic Partnership, Agriculture Partnership and Innovation Partnership.

On May 27, FM Bishop attended the inauguration ceremony of Cao Lanh Bridge in theMekong Delta province of Dong Thap, which was built with non-refundabledevelopment assistance funded by Australia.-VNA