Canberra, (VNA) – National Assembly ChairwomanNguyen Thi Kim Ngan has expressed wish to further strengthen ties withAustralia within bilateral cooperation framework as well as at regional andglobal forums.

During a meeting in Canberra on November 30 with Australian ForeignMinister Julie Bishop, deputy head of the ruling Liberal Party of Australia, Ngansaid the Vietnamese NA welcomes and supports the upgrade of bilateral ties tostrategic partnership level.

As the two countries are to celebrate the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2018, Vietnam will work closelywith Australia to hold activities to raise the two peoples’ awareness ofbilateral friendship and collaboration, she said.

The Vietnamese NA leader also expressed delight at growingtwo-way trade which surged to 5.2 billion USD last year from 32.3 million USDin 1990. The figure is expected to hit 10 billion USD in the near future.

She spoke highly of mutual support in multilateral forumsand thanked Australia for supporting Vietnam’s candidacy as a non-permanentmember of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure.

The guest asked Australia to continue working closely withVietnam in multilateral cooperation mechanisms and thanked the AustralianGovernment and the Foreign Minister herself for providing support forVietnamese nationals living in the country.

The top legislator took the occasion to thank the high-rankingAustralia delegation led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for their activecontributions to the success of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Leaders’ Week recently hosted by Vietnam.

She asked for increased collaboration in regional and globalissues of shared stance and interest, including strengthening regionalarchitecture, promoting trade liberalisation and economic connectivity.

Vietnam appreciates Australia’s thorough preparations forthe ASEAN- Australia Special Summit scheduled for March 2018 in Sydney and theoutcomes of the East Asia Summit (EAS) recently held in the Philippines, shesaid, adding that Vietnam is ready to partner with Australia and ASEAN memberstates to promote the content of marine security cooperation in the upcomingASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

The NA Chairwoman noted that Vietnam highly valuesAustralia’s positive stance on the East Sea issue, especially the comments andstrong message delivered by PM Turnbull at the Shangri-La Dialogue and the EASin earlier November.

Bishop, for her part, expressed hope that both nations can liftbilateral ties to strategic partnership level in March next year.

Praising Vietnam’s important role in directing regionaleconomic integration, Bishop wished that more Vietnamese students will chooseAustralia as a study destination. Vietnam is currently the fifth largest sourceof students in Australia. The Australia government has provided 3,000scholarships for Vietnam while 1,500 Australian students will study in Vietnamunder the New Colombo Plan (NCP) programme.

She hailed Vietnam for raising the East Asia issue inregional forums, and reaffirmed that Australia backs the settlement of disputesby peaceful means on the basis of dialogue and respect for international law,including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.-VNA