Canberra (VNA) – Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Thi Thanh met with Governor-General of Australia Samantha Joy Mostyn in Canberra on September 13, within the framework of her working visit to Australia.
Samantha Joy Mostyn extended her deep condolences to the State and people of Vietnam for the severe damage caused by Typhoon Yagi and subsequent flooding in the northern provinces.
The fact that Australia was one of the first countries to offer support to help Vietnam address the aftermath of the natural disasters highlights the close relationship between the two nations, she stressed, expressing her hope that Vietnam will soon overcome these difficulties, recover from the losses, and stabilise the lives of its people.
On behalf of the Party, State, and people of Vietnam, Thanh sincerely thanked the Governor-General and the Australian Government for their valuable and timely assistance. She emphasised that this support is a significant source of encouragement for Vietnam during these challenging times.
The Vietnamese lawmaker appreciated the Australian Government’s policy of prioritising and allocating resources to the Southeast Asian region, including Vietnam, through specific and practical actions such as the "Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040," and the establishment of the Vietnam-Australia Centre at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and the Australia-Vietnam Policy Institute.
Discussing orientations to concretise and deepen the Vietnam-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, Thanh proposed both sides increase delegation exchanges, high-level meetings and mechanisms to strengthen strategic trust within the framework of the new relationship; effectively and substantively implement existing agreements; and coordinate in building an action programme for the implementation of the comprehensive strategic partnership for the 2024-2027 period.
Regarding economic and trade cooperation, the Vietnamese NA Vice Chairwoman recommended the drastic implementation of investment and trade promotion measures to raise bilateral trade to 20 billion USD and double two-way investment in the coming years.
It is necessary to pay more attention to new areas of cooperation such as climate change response, energy transition, digital transformation, digital economy and high-tech agriculture, Thanh stressed, proposing Australia open its door to more Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products, firstly whole shrimp, passion fruit and grapefruit. She affirmed Vietnam always creates favourable conditions for major Australian businesses and investment funds to invest in the nation.
As for education and training cooperation, she urged Australia to continue providing favourable conditions for Vietnamese students to learn in Australia following the implementation of a Draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework, expected to be approved in December; and increase the number of scholarships available for Vietnamese students.
Regarding the East Sea issue, Thanh appreciated Australia's stance and requested continued close coordination and support for Vietnam’s and ASEAN’s principled position. She called for exchanges, coordination of stances, and strengthened cooperation in maritime security and safety, as well as in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and transnational crimes.
The NA Vice Chairwoman suggested the two sides actively cooperate to implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments on supporting Vietnamese citizens working in the agricultural sector, increasing the reception of Vietnamese workers in occupations that lack labour in Australia. She also proposed Australia continue to maintain and increase official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in human resources development, especially in the fields of semiconductor, public management, public policy development and macro-finance; consider signing an agreement to promote cooperation in tourism, opening more direct flights between the two countries; and strive to put the two countries on the list of each other's leading tourism markets.
Emphasising the importance of the Vietnam-Australia relations, Samantha Joy Mostyn stated that she will convey Thanh's proposals to the relevant Australian authorities to further advance the bilateral ties.
At the meeting, Thanh conveyed Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s invitation to visit Vietnam to the Governor-General. The latter expressed her wish to soon visit Vietnam and assured that she will exert efforts to further promote the bilateral relationship in her capacity.
Earlier on September 12 afternoon (local time), NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh met with President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines.
The two sides agreed that the cooperation between the two legislative bodies continues to be deepened, with mutual visits have helped create strong momentum for the ties. They discussed several important measures to continue advancing the relationship between their countries and legislative bodies in the coming time. Lines announced that following her visit to Vietnam in late August, both countries are implementing measures to for the export of Australian plums to Vietnam.
The two sides also exchanged views on several issues of mutual interests, and concurred that the Vietnamese community in Australia have not only settled down, integrated into the host society and contributed to the Australian economy but also preserved national identity and served as a bridge for the bilateral relationship.
Later, the Vietnamese legislator received Katy Gallagher - Minister of Finance, Minister for Finance, Women and the Public Service of Australia, during which she applauded achievements that Australia has made in developing and implementing policies for women's development, and providing high-quality public services/public finance to the Australian people.
Thanh thanked the Australian government for its support for the development of Vietnamese women over many years, including assisting Vietnam in making amendments to the Law on Gender Equality in 2023–2025 and enforcing the law after its enactment; and supporting many programmes and projects for women.
She made several proposals for bilateral cooperation, expressing her hope that the Australian government and Minister Gallagher will continue to coordinate, share experiences, and support Vietnam in crucial areas.
For her part, Gallagher thanked Thanh for sharing important information about Vietnam's achievements, particularly in gender equality and women's advancement, as well as the effective cooperation between the two countries in these fields.
There are many opportunities for the two countries to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and find solutions to current challenges, she stated, stressing that the Australian government has consistently prioritised developing relations with Vietnam since the beginning of its new tenure.
Regarding public services, the Australian official highlighted that this is a priority for the Australian government, particularly in training and capacity building, so the two countries have significant potential for cooperation.
The same day, Thanh held talks with Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives and Chairperson of the Australia-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group (AVFPG) Sharon Claydon.
The two sides spoke highly of the great achievements of the Vietnam – Australia relationship over the past 50 years, particularly noting the upgrade of the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in March 2024. They affirmed that political trust and mutual understanding are increasingly strengthened through maintaining high-level exchanges and meetings across all channels, including the parliamentary channel.
They also discussed specific measures to further strengthen the relationship between the legislative bodies of the two countries in the future.
Claydon expressed her pleasure at seeing the extensive efforts made by the two countries and their parliaments to boost bilateral relations, noting that the AVFPG is the largest such group in the Australian Parliament, with 57 members, reflecting the close ties between the two legislative bodies.
She expressed her hope that the friendship parliamentary groups, and female parliamentarians of the two countries will strongly strengthen cooperation and support each other to further promote bilateral relations as well as relations between the two parliament.
On this occasion, Thanh suggested Claydon and the Australian House of Representatives continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Australia to live, work, study stably, integrate into the local society, thus contributing to Australia’s development and serving as a bridge for enhancing the relationship between the two countries.
Before the above-mentioned meetings, Thanh and the Vietnamese NA’s delegation attended a session of the Australian Senate at its headquarters.
They visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia before concluding the visit to the country./.
