The up-coming visit to Australia by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh will deepen the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, stated the Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Thanh Tan.

The Ambassador said this in an interview with a Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondent before the Party leader’s visit.

Ambassador Tan said he believed that bilateral ties will continue to develop strongly in the future, especially in trade and education.

On the significance of the visit, Ambassador Tan said that it will be an important milestone in Vietnamese-Australian relations and mark the growing friendship and comprehensive cooperation shown between the two countries.

He said that over the past 36 years, since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1973, their relationship has led to many great achievements and is constantly developing.

In recent years, the two countries have regularly held exchanges at all levels. Joint initiatives in education and training, trade, tourism, defence and security have also increased. In addition they now work closer together at regional and international forums.

Ambassador Tan said the effectiveness of bilateral relations can be improved by working out practical frameworks for cooperation in each field and for certain period.

The Ambassador said that there is huge potential for both countries to work closer together as Australia is a global leader in education, the financial sector and technology, especially in the mining industry. The country is one of Vietnam’s principle partners and Australia attaches a lot of importance to the Vietnamese market and the country’s role in the region.

According to the diplomat, the growth of Vietnamese-Australian economic ties can be seen in the sharp increase in two-way trade since 2005. In 2008, despite the impacts of the global financial crisis, the figure still hit almost 8 billion AUD.

Australian official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam has also risen, reaching 106 million AUD in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Australia has opened up more banks in Vietnam and it continues to invest in a number of important economic fields.

The number of Australian visitors to Vietnam has also increased, pushing it into the top 10 countries in the world to send tourists to the country.

Ambassador Tan said he believed that at this rate, especially when the ASEAN-Australia Free Trade Agreement takes effect, trade and tourism between Vietnam and Australia would expand significantly.

The Ambassador said that in education, Australia is an excellent destination for Vietnamese students and Australian universities and training centres continue to attract more and more Vietnamese students.

This year, an average 1,000 Vietnamese students have gone to Australia each month. Currently, over 17,000 Vietnamese students are studying in Australia and another 14,000 are at Australian schools in Vietnam .

The Ambassador pointed out that those trainees are invaluable for the nation’s economic development and an important link between Vietnam and Australia./.