Illustrative image (Source: Internet) Sydney (VNA) - Carlyle A. Thayer- Emeritus Professor, the Universityof New South Wales, Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy, has an exclusivearticle on the Vietnam-Australia ties to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion ofthe official visit to Australia by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc from March14-18.
Following is the full text of the article.
“The Prime Ministers of Australia and Vietnam, Malcolm Turnbull and Nguyen XuanPhuc, will sign a strategic partnership agreement in Canberra on March 16.
This document will reflect the substantial progress in bilateral relations overthe last forty-five years since diplomatic relations were established in 1973.
Over the last forty-five years Australia and Vietnam have built up strategictrust based on mutual respect and shared interests. In 2009, Australia and Vietnamagreed to form a comprehensive partnership (2009) and in 2015 they agreed toenhance the comprehensive partnership.
Today both countries cooperate in six major areas: trade and investment,development assistance, education, political and diplomatic, defence andsecurity, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges.
Vietnam is Australia’s eighth largest trading partner, while Australia isVietnam’s fifteenth largest trading partner. Two-way merchandise exports havegrown to more than 10 billion AUD.
Australia’s provision of educational services tops its export list. Australia’sexports of metallurgical coal and minerals (aluminium, copper and zinc) haveskyrocketed. Vietnam is Australia’s second largest live cattle and wheatmarket.
Australia is Vietnam’s nineteenth largest investor with a total of around 2billion AUD in 378 projects (construction, services, education, processingindustry and the agro-forestry-fisheries sector).
Australia’s official development assistance will total around 84 million AUD in2017-18. There are six priority areas: private sector development, agricultureand rural development, infrastructure (Cao Lanh bridge), climate changemitigation, capacity building, innovation and gender equality.
Vietnam is Australia's fourth largest source of foreign students with nearly25,000 Vietnamese students currently studying at all levels in Australia. Bythe end of 2018, more than 1,500 Australian students will have studied inVietnam under the Australian government’s New Colombo Plan.
Australian universities are active in Vietnam. The Royal Melbourne Institute ofTechnology (RMIT) opened a campus in 2000. In recent years cooperation hasdeepened between education and research institutions. For example, theUniversity of Technology Sydney offers a PhD in computer science in cooperationwith Vietnam’s National University.
Australia and Vietnam regularly consult on political and diplomatic matters.For example, they hold a joint Foreign Affairs/Defence Strategic Dialogue atdeputy-secretary/vice minister level annually.
Australia and Vietnam both share a commitment to regional peace, stability, andrespect for international law. They work together in regional and internationalforums such as APEC and the East Asian Summit.
Australia and Vietnam also have an extensive defence and security relationship.Senior officials meet annually. In 2010, on the sidelines of the inauguralmeeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus in Hanoi, Vietnam and Australiasigned a Memorandum of Understanding Defence Cooperation. In 2013, the twocountries inaugurated the Australia-Vietnam Defence Ministers' Meeting inCanberra.
Australia is a key provider of professional military education and training tothe Vietnam People’s Army, particularly through the provision of Englishlanguage skills. The Special Forces of both countries interact to shareexperience in countering terrorism. This year the Royal Australian Air Forcewill assist Vietnam in deploying a Level II field hospital to the UnitedNations Mission in South Sudan.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Securitycooperate to address a wide array of security matters such as law enforcementand transnational crime (people smuggling, drug trafficking and cyber crime).
Australia and Vietnam collaborate to promote science and technology includinginformation and communications technology. The Commonwealth Scientific andIndustrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is extremely active in working withcounterparts in Vietnam. According to one account, CSIRO officials make overone hundred and fifty visits to Vietnam each year. Recently the two sidesinaugurated an annual high-level consultation on agriculture.
Finally, people-to-people exchanges round out the bilateral relationship.According to the 2016 Census, nearly 300,000 people in Australia claimVietnamese ancestry. Citizens of both countries have developed personal tiesthrough education, business, volunteer activities and tourism. In 2017,approximately 285,000 Australian tourists visited Vietnam.
Looking at what has been achieved is impressive but that is not enough. The newstrategic partnership between Australia and Vietnam must be forward looking andreflect the reality that both countries have a growing convergence of nationalinterests.
After the strategic partnership is signed both sides will have to work draw upa Plan of Action for the coming years. Three areas should be given priority:
First, the two sides should quickly move to initiate a ministerial-levelconsultation on the economic partnership to align trade, investment anddevelopment assistance to promote the greater integration of the two countriesinto the regional economy.
Second, Australia and Vietnam should step up defence and security cooperationto jointly meet emerging regional security challenges.
Third, both Australia and Vietnam need to promote innovation in all aspects of theirbilateral relationship”. - VNA
Following is the full text of the article.
“The Prime Ministers of Australia and Vietnam, Malcolm Turnbull and Nguyen XuanPhuc, will sign a strategic partnership agreement in Canberra on March 16.
This document will reflect the substantial progress in bilateral relations overthe last forty-five years since diplomatic relations were established in 1973.
Over the last forty-five years Australia and Vietnam have built up strategictrust based on mutual respect and shared interests. In 2009, Australia and Vietnamagreed to form a comprehensive partnership (2009) and in 2015 they agreed toenhance the comprehensive partnership.
Today both countries cooperate in six major areas: trade and investment,development assistance, education, political and diplomatic, defence andsecurity, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges.
Vietnam is Australia’s eighth largest trading partner, while Australia isVietnam’s fifteenth largest trading partner. Two-way merchandise exports havegrown to more than 10 billion AUD.
Australia’s provision of educational services tops its export list. Australia’sexports of metallurgical coal and minerals (aluminium, copper and zinc) haveskyrocketed. Vietnam is Australia’s second largest live cattle and wheatmarket.
Australia is Vietnam’s nineteenth largest investor with a total of around 2billion AUD in 378 projects (construction, services, education, processingindustry and the agro-forestry-fisheries sector).
Australia’s official development assistance will total around 84 million AUD in2017-18. There are six priority areas: private sector development, agricultureand rural development, infrastructure (Cao Lanh bridge), climate changemitigation, capacity building, innovation and gender equality.
Vietnam is Australia's fourth largest source of foreign students with nearly25,000 Vietnamese students currently studying at all levels in Australia. Bythe end of 2018, more than 1,500 Australian students will have studied inVietnam under the Australian government’s New Colombo Plan.
Australian universities are active in Vietnam. The Royal Melbourne Institute ofTechnology (RMIT) opened a campus in 2000. In recent years cooperation hasdeepened between education and research institutions. For example, theUniversity of Technology Sydney offers a PhD in computer science in cooperationwith Vietnam’s National University.
Australia and Vietnam regularly consult on political and diplomatic matters.For example, they hold a joint Foreign Affairs/Defence Strategic Dialogue atdeputy-secretary/vice minister level annually.
Australia and Vietnam both share a commitment to regional peace, stability, andrespect for international law. They work together in regional and internationalforums such as APEC and the East Asian Summit.
Australia and Vietnam also have an extensive defence and security relationship.Senior officials meet annually. In 2010, on the sidelines of the inauguralmeeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus in Hanoi, Vietnam and Australiasigned a Memorandum of Understanding Defence Cooperation. In 2013, the twocountries inaugurated the Australia-Vietnam Defence Ministers' Meeting inCanberra.
Australia is a key provider of professional military education and training tothe Vietnam People’s Army, particularly through the provision of Englishlanguage skills. The Special Forces of both countries interact to shareexperience in countering terrorism. This year the Royal Australian Air Forcewill assist Vietnam in deploying a Level II field hospital to the UnitedNations Mission in South Sudan.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Securitycooperate to address a wide array of security matters such as law enforcementand transnational crime (people smuggling, drug trafficking and cyber crime).
Australia and Vietnam collaborate to promote science and technology includinginformation and communications technology. The Commonwealth Scientific andIndustrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is extremely active in working withcounterparts in Vietnam. According to one account, CSIRO officials make overone hundred and fifty visits to Vietnam each year. Recently the two sidesinaugurated an annual high-level consultation on agriculture.
Finally, people-to-people exchanges round out the bilateral relationship.According to the 2016 Census, nearly 300,000 people in Australia claimVietnamese ancestry. Citizens of both countries have developed personal tiesthrough education, business, volunteer activities and tourism. In 2017,approximately 285,000 Australian tourists visited Vietnam.
Looking at what has been achieved is impressive but that is not enough. The newstrategic partnership between Australia and Vietnam must be forward looking andreflect the reality that both countries have a growing convergence of nationalinterests.
After the strategic partnership is signed both sides will have to work draw upa Plan of Action for the coming years. Three areas should be given priority:
First, the two sides should quickly move to initiate a ministerial-levelconsultation on the economic partnership to align trade, investment anddevelopment assistance to promote the greater integration of the two countriesinto the regional economy.
Second, Australia and Vietnam should step up defence and security cooperationto jointly meet emerging regional security challenges.
Third, both Australia and Vietnam need to promote innovation in all aspects of theirbilateral relationship”. - VNA
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