President Vo Van Thuong (second, right), his spouse and Australian Governor-General David Hurley and his spouse in a group photo. (Photo: VNA) In his remarks, both leaders affirmed that withcooperation achievements over the past 50 years, especially successes of theGovernor-General’s visit, the bilateral relations will grow to a new height.
Thuong reviewed milestones in the Vietnam-Australiarelationship, saying it has never been as strong and fruitful as it is now.
He appreciated Australia’s official developmentassistance to Vietnam, which, he said, has significantlycontributed to the national socio-economic development and improving Vietnamese’sliving standards.
The President took the example of Cao Lanh and MyThuan bridges, and called them symbols of the Vietnam-Australia friendship.
The two sides have also established many cooperationagreements between their localities, he said, adding that more than 80,000Vietnamese students have received training in Australia, and hundreds of thousandsof Australians visit Vietnam each year. The figures speak out about exchangesbetween people of the two countries.
Vietnam, as an active and responsible member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) and the international community, has worked together with Australia inmany regional and international issues, and to consolidate mutual trust and commonperceptions on values of peace, stability, cooperation and respect forsovereignty, territorial integrity and rule of law, he continued.
Speaking at the event, Hurley affirmed that Australiais proud to have a close, reliable friend and partner like Vietnam, and the twocountries are joining hands in concretising their joint vision in Indo-Pacific - a region of stability and prosperity, wheresovereignty and international law are respected.
He rejoiced at the tight, effective bilateral cooperationin many fields such as economy, politics, security, climate change response, educationand national defence. He also highlighted new air routes between thetwo countries, including one expected to be launched by Vietnam’s Vietjet thismonth.
Hurley expressed his delight at bilateral culturallinks, with more than 300,000 Vietnamese living and working in Australia, andthe Vietnamese language being the 4th most commonly spoken in thecountry.
Australia wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in realisingthe Southeast Asian nation’s development goals, he noted./.
VNA
