Australia among Vietnam’s key partners: Ambassador

Sydney (VNA) – Australia is among Vietnam’s key partners in the region and the world, Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam said in an interview with the Canberra Times as the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of their relations this year.

In the full two-page interview, Nam said after four decades, the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Australia have grown steadily and visit exchanges between their high-ranking leaders have created impetuses to bring the relations to a new height.

Vietnam and Australia are proud of their growing diplomacy in all fields, including economy, trade, education, science- technology and security-defence, he told the Australia-based newspaper.

Two-way trade rose by more than 200 times after over three decades, from 32.3 million USD in 1990 to 6.46 billion USD in 2017, he noted. As trade is a key pillar of the bilateral relationship, Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam expects the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be signed soon, paving the way for more cooperation opportunities between the two sides.

Bilateral security-defence collaboration is also thriving as the two nations share their common concern about terrorism, cyber security and issues in the East Sea. Vietnam pledges to strongly support Australia in its relations with ASEAN as well as its active role in Asia-Pacific, he said.

The ambassador added that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will make an official visit to Australia next month, during which Vietnam and Australia will sign a document to upgrade their ties to a strategic partnership, opening up a new era for the two nations’ relations. The visit will also outline goals and directions for the bilateral relationship in the future, the ambassador said.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, he said, noting the he will work harder to contribute to the development of the bilateral ties.-VNA