Hanoi (VNA) – Chairwoman of theNational Assembly (NA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives of Australia Tony Smith held talks in Hanoi on July 23, seekingways to solidify the countries’ relations in a number of aspects.

Welcoming her guest’s official visit, ChairwomanNgan said the trip is significant amid the 45th anniversary of the countries’diplomatic ties and the increasing trust in their political relations. In particular,the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership last March hascreated a new important framework for enhancing all-round cooperation in a moresubstantial manner.

She noted Vietnam has always treasured its tieswith Australia, which plays a growing role in the region and the world, and isone of its key partners. 

She expressed her delight that Australia iscurrently one of the leading trade and investment partners of her country. Bilateraltrade has risen by over 7 percent each year, approximating 6.5 billion USD in2017 and 3.62 billion USD in the first half of 2018. Australia has 416investment projects worth a total of 1.8 billion USD in Vietnam at present,ranking 20th among the 126 countries and territories investing in the SoutheastAsian nation.

Valuing Australia’s facilitation for Vietnameseagricultural products, Chairwoman Ngan said Vietnam will support Australianfirms in increasing their investments, especially in high-demand fields such asenergy, infrastructure, telecommunications, finance and banking, mining,manufacturing, high-tech agriculture, education, and tourism.

At the talks, the two leaders noted withsatisfaction that Australia’s official development assistance for Vietnam hasresulted in some encouraging outcomes. Notably, Cao Lanh Bridge, inaugurated onMay 27 during a visit by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, is a symbolof the countries’ strategic partnership. It is also a demonstration ofAustralia’s effective support for socio-economic development in the MekongDelta region of Vietnam.

The host asked Australia to continue assistingVietnam in infrastructure, agriculture and rural development, povertyreduction, climate change combat, and human resource development.

Regarding defence and security, the two sidessaid bilateral cooperation in this area is becoming more and more substantive,trustworthy, and stable, especially in terms of coordination in participating inthe United Nations peacekeeping mission, fighting terrorism and trans-nationalcrimes, and training English.

Chairwoman Ngan called on Australia to furtherhelp Vietnam address the consequences of unexploded ordnances (UXO) and provideinformation about missing Vietnamese soldiers, as agreed in a memorandum ofunderstanding inked in 2015.

She applauded Australia’s White Paper ForeignPolicy, released in November 2017, that prioritises relations with SoutheastAsia, including Vietnam. She also highly valued the country’s increasing rolein and responsibility towards the region, particularly in disaster relief.

The NA leader affirmed that Vietnam willcoordinate closely to help strengthen Australia’s relations with ASEAN andother regional countries.

She also lauded the two countries’ cooperationat regional and international forums, including the United Nations, theAsia-Pacific Economic Partnership (APEC), ASEAN, the ASEAN-Australia-NewZealand Free Trade Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP), and other ASEAN-led mechanisms.

To reinforce legislative ties, the Chairwomanasked the two parliaments to boost mutual visits to share legislativeexperience; supervise and support their respective Governments to realise thecommitments in the Plan of Action for 2016-2019 and other agreements; createmore favourable conditions for people-to-people exchange; and promote the roleof parliamentary friendship groups and friendship associations in each country.

🌃[Infographics: Vietnam-Australia Strategic Partnership]

There are now nearly 30,000 Vietnamese studentsin Australia while about 1,000 Australian students have come to Vietnam underthe New Colombo Plan, Ngan said, asking Australia to continue helping hercountry develop high-quality human resources. She affirmed that Vietnam willkeep close cooperation with Australia to carry out the New Colombo Plan.

She highlighted the growth in tourismcooperation when nearly 400,000 Australians visited Vietnam in 2017. The nationalflag carrier Vietnam Airlines has operated 18 direct flights a week to majorcities in Australia. Meanwhile, the budget carrier Vietjet Air is also planningto open a direct route linking Brisbane to Ho Chi Minh City in 2019.

She also asked Australia to continue favourableconditions for Vietnamese citizens to join the Work and Holiday programme, andthe nearly 300,000 Vietnamese expatriates to integrate into local society andcontribute to bilateral relations.

For his part, Speaker Tony Smith said the recentvisits between the two parliaments and Governments have shown the strongconnections between Australia and Vietnam.

He shared the view that the countries shouldenhance coordination in ratifying and implementing the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). He also placedVietnam’s efforts to ratify the deal in 2018 under high value.

Discussing the cooperation areas mentioned byChairwoman Ngan, he said they are important to people-to-people connections. Hevoiced his belief that the Australian and Vietnamese students, entrepreneurs,and labourers in each other’s countries are ambassadors helping to enhancebilateral relations in the future.

Tony Smith said his country has a successfulagricultural community and it wants to learn about the agricultural experienceof Vietnam. He noted that the New Colombo Plan, which sends Australian studentsto Vietnam, has been deemed a success and has received major domestic support.

At the talks, the two leaders said maintainingpeace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight overthe East Sea is critical to all countries in the region. They also underlinedthe importance of resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis ofinternational law.

On this occasion, Chairwoman Ngan asked SpeakerTony Smith to convey her invitation to visit Vietnam to the President of theAustralian Senate.

Later on July 23, the top legislator of Vietnamhosted a banquet in honour of Speaker Tony Smith and the delegation of theAustralian House of Representatives. –VNA