Australia and Vietnam become among the most important partners to each other
Speaking at a press conference, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his delight in welcoming Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife to visit Australia. “This is also to reciprocate the generous hospitality that I received in Vietnam last June. I believe that such visits will further energize the bilateral relationship,” said the Australian Prime Minister.
 Australian Prime Minister: “Upgrading our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will make Australia and Vietnam become among the most important partners to each other” – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
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In 2023, Australia and Vietnam celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations. “Those 5 decades have witnessed Australia and Vietnam building long-term partnership, friendship based on trust, mutual respect, family and community relationships as well as a shared vision for an open, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean and Pacific region. Upgrading our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership today will make Australia and Vietnam become among the most important partners to each other,” said the Australian Prime Minister.
He believes that the upgrading of the Vietnam-Australia relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership aims to promote wide-ranging and substantive cooperation in various areas, such as climate change, energy transition, resources including important mineral supply chains, digital transformation, innovation, trade and investment, agriculture, defense, education, training, and more.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his joy about the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership having further pillars of climate change, environmental cooperation and energy cooperation, as both Australia and Vietnam have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Both sides also established an annual dialogue mechanism among trade ministers; an agreement to strengthen monitoring the impact of climate change on the marine environment; turning digital transformation, scientific and technological cooperation and innovation into new pillars of bilateral relations.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that both sides are interested in promoting trade and investment cooperation to enhance prosperity between the two countries. The trade between Vietnam and Australia in 2022 reached AUD 25.7 billion, a 75% increase compared to 2020.
Australia is implementing the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy until 2040. To strengthen economic relations and enhance investment between the two countries, the Australian Prime Minister announced in Melbourne earlier this week the expansion of the program to support Australian technology companies in Vietnam to further enhance investment and research in new markets… “Many things are being done across both the Australian Government in building commercial and investment relations with Vietnam,” he said.
Both sides have discussed and agreed to strengthen cooperation in education and training; labor and employment; while discussing the importance of strengthening cooperation to preserve and promote security and stability in the region, including reaching an agreement for peace; as well as elevating the level of security dialogue between Vietnam and Australia to the ministerial level.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is delighted to announce that agreements have been reached to facilitate 1,000 Vietnamese agricultural workers to work in Australia, with the workers expected to arrive this year.
The Australian Prime Minister believes that all initiatives and cooperation programs must be maintained and further strengthened based on the links and exchanges between the two countries’ people. With 350,000 Vietnamese migrants living in Australia and Vietnamese being the fourth most spoken language in Australia, the connections between the two countries span across generations and geographical areas. The Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be effectively implemented to address today’s and future challenges.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will contribute to enhancing and deepening the cooperative relationship, meeting the common aspirations of the people of both countries, for peace, stability, cooperation, development in the region and the world – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
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6 improvements in the Vietnam-Australia relationship
On behalf of the Vietnamese Government delegation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed sincere thanks for the warm, thoughtful, and affectionate reception, and kindness from the Australian Government and people.
The Prime Minister is pleased and highly appreciates Australia’s impressive achievements in economic recovery and development after the COVID-19 pandemic, actively improving social well-being for the people and actively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world; congratulates Australia on successfully hosting the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit commemorating 50 years of ASEAN-Australia diplomatic relations.
“On this occasion, we sincerely thank and highly appreciate Australia’s support and positive cooperation in the process of innovation, integration, and development of Vietnam, especially for supporting 26.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, being one of the largest vaccine-supporting countries, leading in vaccine support for children and maintaining high ODA for Vietnam,” said the Prime Minister.
In Melbourne, the Prime Minister exchanged several improvements in the Vietnam-Australia relationship after more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, 15 years of establishing Comprehensive Partnership relations, and 6 years of Strategic Partnership relations. The Prime Minister stated that at the very successful talk, he and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared to elevate Vietnam-Australia relations to the highest level – the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the new framework of this relationship will contribute to strengthening and deepening cooperation, meeting the common aspirations of the people of both countries, for peace, stability, cooperation, development in the region and the world.
The Prime Minister summarized the “6 improvements” within the new framework of the two countries’ relationship as follows:
Firstly, a higher level of political trust and diplomacy.
Secondly, comprehensive and substantive economic, trade, and investment cooperation.
Thirdly, stronger cooperation in science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, and green transformation.
Fourthly, cultural cooperation, education and training, the environment, comprehensive response to climate change.
Fifthly, people-to-people exchanges, intergenerational connections, more sincere relationships.
Sixthly, better understanding, sympathy, and sharing on security and defense, towards peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
The two Prime Ministers also agreed to deepen regional and international cooperation; continue to coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN, and mechanisms led by ASEAN; promote peaceful dialogues, build trust between countries; leverage the central role of ASEAN; promote cooperation mechanisms in the Mekong subregion; at the same time, wish for conflicts in the world to be resolved by peaceful means, strengthen humanitarian assistance, not use or threaten to use force, comply with international law, the United Nations Charter, to protect people and not leave anyone behind.
Regarding the South China Sea issue, both sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation, and aviation in the South China Sea; resolving disputes by peaceful means based on international law, especially UNCLOS 1982; agreeing to exchange information and enhance cooperation, striving to make the South China Sea a region of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation, and comprehensive development, benefiting the people of the region and relevant countries.
Both sides agreed to create favorable conditions and ensure the legitimate and rightful rights and interests of the people and businesses of both countries to live, work, and study in each country. The Prime Minister thanked Australia for creating conditions and supporting Vietnamese students and the more than 350,000 Vietnamese-born people living and working in Australia; at the same time, always welcoming and facilitating Australian citizens and businesses to study, work, do business, and invest in Vietnam.
On this occasion, the functional agencies of the two countries have signed 11 important cooperation documents on defense, trade, energy, education, science and technology, justice, etc… The two Prime Ministers have agreed to proactively and actively implement these agreements. According to the Prime Minister, from the agreement to action and efficiency is a process, both sides must earnestly implement, review and evaluate through meetings and exchanges between the two sides in flexible forms to do better.
“We are delighted and firmly believe that with today’s official elevation of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Vietnam and Australia have entered a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations towards substantive, efficient, comprehensive, inclusive, and sustainable cooperation in many fields, meeting the practical aspirations and interests of the people of both countries, and actively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, development, and friendship in the region and the world,” emphasized the Prime Minister.
