Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc hosted a reception for visiting Australian Minister of ForeignAffairs Marise Payne in Hanoi on June 13.
PM Phuc congratulated Payne on her reappointmentas Minister for Foreign Affairs cum Minister for Women of Australia.
The PM spoke highly of Payne’s role in andsignificant contributions to promoting the Vietnam-Australia strategic partnershipover the past years in both positions as the Minister for Foreign Affairs atpresent and the Minister for Defence in the past.
He welcomed Payne for selecting Vietnam as oneof the first countries to visit right in the second week of her new workingtenure.
Relations between Vietnam and Australia havebeen developing fruitfully in the recent past, PM Phuc said, adding that Australiahas annually trained nearly 30,000 Vietnamese students.
Two-way tradereached 7.7 billion USD in 2018, a year-on-year rise of 19.3 percent. Australiacurrently ranks 19th among 128 foreign investors in Vietnam with total investmentof over 1.84 billion USD, while Vietnam is running 47 direct investmentprojects in Australia.
Besideseconomic ties, the potential for bilateral cooperation in other realms remainslarge, PM Phuc said.
He asked the twosides to review the implementation of the Vietnam-Australia action programmefor 2016-2019 and begin the building of an action programme to realise thebilateral strategic partnership in the next period with special measures andgoals to further deepen the bilateral cooperation in all fields.
The PM suggested the two sides effectivelyuphold the current bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the annualcoordination mechanisms at the ministerial level.
Vietnam and Australia should increase trade andinvestment ties while stepping up cooperation in other important spheres suchas education, training, culture, tourism, sports and people-to-peopleexchanges, creating a firm foundation for the expansion and enhancement ofcomprehensive cooperation at the central and local levels, he recommended.
PM hopedAustralia will continue providing official development assistance (ODA) forVietnam and assisting the Southeast Asian country to improve the administrationcapacity and experience in managing the economy amidst the Fourth IndustrialRevolution and e-government.
The PM extolled the effective cooperation and coordinationbetween Vietnam and Australia at regional and international forums, especiallythe United Nations (UN), ASEAN-Australia partnership and expanded ASEANmechanisms, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM), and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP).
He hoped Australia will continue supporting andcoordinating closely with Vietnam when the country takes over the role as anon-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term and chairmanshipof the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020, including theorganisation of the ASEAN-Australia Summit in 2020.
Regarding the East Sea issue, PM Phuc clearlystated that Vietnam highly appreciated Australia’s viewpoint and hopedAustralia will continue to have a strong voice and back the stance of ASEAN andVietnam with the spirit of peace, friendship, freedom of aviation andnavigation, and compliance with international law.
Payne said she will spare no effort to promotethe relationship between the two countries, adding that Australian PM ScottMorrison attaches great importance to cooperation with Vietnam and hopes tovisit the Southeast Asian country soon.
The minister congratulated Vietnam on becoming anon-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, which,she said, shows the increasingly important role of Vietnam in the internationalarena.
She agreed to PM Phuc’s proposal on stepping upbilateral trade and investment ties, saying the CPTPP has opened up manycooperation opportunities and many Australian businesses want to increaseinvestment in Vietnam.
The minister said she will direct the Australianforeign ministry to expand new cooperation with Vietnam in the spirit ofstrategic partnership.
Australia is willing to support Vietnam inimplementing its development priorities such as infrastructure, digitalcapacity, and cyber security as well as continue strengthening coordinationwith Vietnam in the East Sea matter to ensure regional peace, stability andprosperity, she affirmed.-VNA
VNA
