Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuchosted a reception in Hanoi on May 28 for Australian Foreign Minister JulieBishop, during which they highly evaluated the fruitful development ofbilateral relations in recent years.

PM Phuc highly spoke of the Australian FM’s visit, sayingit takes places right after the successful visit to Vietnam from May 23-26 byGovernor-General of Australia Peter Cosgrove to translate the Vietnam-Australiareliable and profound strategic partnership into reality.

The government leader also hailed the outcomes of earliertalks between Bishop and Vietnamese Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh.

PM Phuc thanked the Government and people of Australia forfunding the construction of cable-stayed Cao Lanh Bridge in the Mekong Deltaprovince of Dong Thap. The bridge reflects the long-standing friendship betweenthe two nations, he said, adding that the Vietnamese people look forward to theenhancement of cooperation with Australia in different fields.

Bishop, for her part, emphasized the importance offostering the implementation of the Vietnam – Australia strategic partnershipto deepen bilateral ties.

She was delighted at the strengthened and enhanced mutualtrust between the two nations with the inauguration of the Cao Lanh Bridge as asymbol of effective cooperation. She hoped that the bridge will benefit localresidents and promote the socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta.

The FM said she was pleased to know that more and moreAustralian investors are doing business in Vietnam and that Australia wants tostep up collaboration with Vietnam in many areas, particularly innovation.

PM Phuc agreed with FM Bishop’s cooperation proposals,saying the two countries need to soon implement the contents of the strategicpartnership and agencies must work together to remove barriers and bolsterinvestment and trade exchange for the benefit of their businesses and people.

Bishop has been on a visit to Vietnam from May 26-28during which she attended the inauguration of the Cao Lanh Bridge and co-chairedthe inaugural Australia-Vietnam Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The Cao Lanh Bridge spans over the Tien River to connectthe provincial capital of Cao Lanh and Lap Vo district. The 2km-long bridge isabout 0.8 km from the Cao Lanh ferry terminal and about 35 km from My ThuanBridge, which links Tien Giang and Vinh Long provinces.

It is estimated that the bridge will help reduce thetravel time from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta provinces of Dong Thap,An Giang and Kien Giang by 2 hours. Before the bridge was inaugurated, localpeople had to take ferry to cross the Tien River.

Australia’s 160 million AUD (over 121 million USD) non-refundable aid in the project is one of the country’s largest aid activities inSoutheast Asia.-VNA