Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly, led by its Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, will payofficial visits to Australia and New Zealand from November 30 to December 7 atthe invitations of Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives MiltonDick, President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines and Speaker of the NewZealand House of Representatives Adrian Rurawhe.
Australia is astrategic partner of Vietnam in the South Pacific. Cooperation between the twocountries is developing effectively in various areas while the exchange ofdelegations and high-level meetings has been maintained.
Bilateral cooperationmechanisms are flexibly deployed in both face-to-face and online formats. Most recently,Vietnam conducted the fourth foreign ministerial-level meeting with Australia inSeptember and is promoting the organisation of the third Vietnam-Australia Prime Ministers’Meeting. The bilateral Plan of Action for the 2020-2023 period has reapedconcrete results.
Despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lastyear, two-way trade grew nearly 50% to 12.4 billion USD. The figure soaredby 31.5% annually in the first nine months of this year to 12 billion USD.
On October 25,Australia announced its budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Accordingly, thecountry will increase ODA for Vietnam to 92.8 million AUD compared to 78.9million AUD in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
At the fourth Vietnam-Australia Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Photo: VNA) In the fight againstCOVID-19, Australia provided over 26.4 million vaccine doses for Vietnam,including 12 million doses for adults and over 14.4 million for children,becoming the second biggest vaccine provider for Vietnam, behind the US.
Collaboration in national defence, security, education-training, labour, and agriculture is developing fruitfully. Notably, the twocountries have paid attention to advancing new cooperation fields such as climatechange response, digital transformation and energy transition.
Australia expressed its wish to upgrade the bilateral relations on the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.
Cooperative ties between the Vietnamese NA and the Parliament of Australia have also beendeveloping, both bilaterally and multilaterally, making important contributions tothe relationship between the two nations. The 15th Vietnamese legislatureestablished the Vietnam-Australia Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group inOctober.
Though the exchange ofhigh-level visits and exchanges between committees and friendship parliamentarians groups were disrupted by COVID-19 during 2019-2021, both sides shared information on legislation,supervision and decided on important national issues via phone talks. They alsoagreed to strengthen their coordination and direct ministries, agencies, localitiesand enterprises to carry out agreements signed between the two countries,contributing to deepening the bilateral strategic partnership in a more practical and effective manner.
At regional and global inter-parliamentary forums, the two countries’ lawmakersalso offered mutual support on regional and global issues of shared concern.
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomes New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in November. (Photo: VNA)
New Zealand is also a strategic partner of Vietnam in South Pacific, with the bilateral ties growing in different fields. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exchange of delegations was suspended during 2021-2022 but high-level conversations have been still maintained andbilateral cooperation mechanisms have been deployed in both online and offline forms.
The 2021-2024 Actionof Plan with New Zealand to realise the bilateral strategic partnership has seenpositive results.
In economic terms, Vietnam and New Zealand are both members of theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)and the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). New Zealand is now the36th largest trading partner of Vietnam. Two-way trade reached 1.3billion USD last year, up 26.7% year-on-year. The figure increased by 13.6% year on year to 1.1 billion USD in the first nine months of this year.
New Zealand also approved the supply of ODA worth 26.7 million NZD for Vietnamduring 2021-2024, equivalent to the sum in the 2018-2021 period. The country also supplied30,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses and 2 million NZD in post-pandemic relief aid to Vietnam.
There remains ampleroom to further boost coordination in national defence, security, education-training,labour and agriculture. In particular, the two countries are interested in newcooperation areas such as climate change response, digital transformation andenergy transition.
Though few visits were paid due to COVID-19, leaders of the two legislatures still maintainedall-level meetings on the sidelines of regional and international conferences.
At regional and gblobal inter-parliamentary forums, the two countries’ delegationsof lawmakers regularly discussed and supported each other on regional andnational issues of mutual concern. The 15th Vietnamese NA continuedto establish the Vietnam - New Zealand Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group andmaintained information exchange with the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam.
Talking with the press ahead of the visits, Chairman of the Vietnamese NA's Committeefor External Relations Vu Hai Ha said during the upcoming trips, Chairman Hue is scheduled tohold talks with senior leaders of Australia and New Zealand to discuss measures to promote their bilateralties in various areas, particularly cooperation between the lawmaking bodies, and exchange views on regional and global issues of shared concern.
Aiming to deploy the foreign policy of the 13th National PartyCongress, the visits to Australia and New Zealand will be the first by a senior leader since Vietnam and the two countriesfully reopened their doors following the pandemic and also the first made by Hue inhis capacity as Chairman of the Vietnamese NA./.
