Canberra (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Presidentof the Senate Scott Ryan and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tony Smithin Canberra on March 15 during his official visit to Australia from March14-16.

The Australian legislators welcomed the PM, his spouse and the Vietnamesedelegation on their official visit to Australia, describing the visit animportant hallmark in 2018 when the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

They spoke highly ofthe results of the talks between the two PMs, especially the signing of a JointStatement on the establishment of the Vietnam-Australia Strategic Partnershipand other important cooperation deals in education-training, science-technologyand agriculture, saying these created breakthroughs in the relations betweenthe two countries as well as ratcheted up cooperation in specific areas.

“Vietnam treasures and wants to deepen the relations with Australia via all channels,including the parliamentary one,” the PM told these leaders, suggesting theirbodies to pay heed to pushing the cooperation between the law-making agenciesof the two countries to match the freshly - established Strategic Partnership.

The Australianleaders hailed the outcomes reached during the official visit to Australia byChairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in November 2017 andsaid they will visit Vietnam at the earliest possible time.

The Senate and the House of Representatives always support and provide maximalassistance to the development of Vietnam-Australia relations, they stressed.

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Senate President Scott Ryan highlighted the role of nearly 300,000Vietnamese-Australian people to the growth of Australia and said he willcontinue working to support the Vietnamese community in their integration intothe local society and making wealth so they will make continuous constructivecontributions to the respective country’s development as well as the bilateralties.

House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith, for his part, showed hisimpression at the strong tourism cooperation between the two countries, citingthe figure of nearly 500,000 Australians having visited Vietnam in 2017.

PM Phuc agreed with the two leaders that education cooperation continues thespotlight in the two countries’ cooperation as evidenced by nearly 30,000Vietnamese students currently studying in Australia plus 60,000 Vietnamesealumni of Australian universities and colleges, and thousands of Australianstudents taking part in exchange programmes in Vietnam under the New ColomboPlan.

“By accelerating education cooperation, the two countries are working togetherto build a foundation for their future,” he underscored.

Earlier on the day, PM Phuc visited the Commonwealth Scientific and IndustrialResearch Organization (CSIRO), an independent agency of the Australian FederalGovernment responsible for scientific research in Australia, and attended anexhibition on renovations and creativity there.

The Vietnamese leader welcomed the sound partnership between the organizationand the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, noting that the twocountries, with their supplementary strengths, shall cooperate to make the bestuse of opportunities brought by Industry 4.0. He also suggested the CSIROcontinuing assisting Vietnam to develop green, organic and high-techagriculture.-VNA