Sydney (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam, who is also Chairman of the ASEAN Committee in Canberra (ACC), and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke co-chaired a working session between the ACC and the Australian Department of Home Affairs on June 29, with the participation of heads of ASEAN diplomatic missions and senior officials from the department.
The ASEAN representatives raised a wide range of issues, including mutual recognition arrangements for skilled workers, cybersecurity cooperation, transnational crime and terrorism combat, and Australia's visa policies for ASEAN citizens, which attracted particular interest.
Speaking on behalf of ASEAN member states, Tam proposed that Australia extend the visa validity period for ASEAN graduates of master's degree programmes from two years to three years. He also urged Australia to soon grant transit visa exemptions for Vietnamese citizens, similar to those already available to nationals of several other ASEAN countries.
In addition, several ACC representatives called on Australia to facilitate visa issuance for students and tourists, while considering the extension of visa categories not yet available to some ASEAN countries, including visas for agricultural and construction workers and working holiday visas.
For his part, Burke welcomed the ACC's proposals and stressed that Australia places a high priority on its relations with Southeast Asian countries. He called for stronger cooperation in cybersecurity, transnational crime combat, critical infrastructure protection, and immigration management.
The minister also expressed his hope that the ASEAN–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will continue to deepen, including through closer cooperation between the relevant law enforcement agencies./.
