Vice President meets leaders of Victoria state

Sydney (VNA) – Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh had bilateral meetings with Governor of Victoria State of Australia Linda Marion Dessau and Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews in the state on April 24.

The meetings took place on the occasion of her trip to attend the Global Summit of Women in Australia.

The Vice President lauded leaders and people of Victoria state for making outstanding achievements in diverse areas, especially in services and social welfare policies, turning Melbourne into the world’s most liveable city in the recent seven years.

She hailed Melbourne as one of the top financial, trade, cultural, education and sport hubs in Australia, the region and the world, contributing nearly 10 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

Thinh wished that leaders of Victoria state will further promote ties with Vietnam, making it easier for Vietnamese localities to form relationship with the state. She also welcomed local firms to do business in Vietnam and asked Victoria leaders to facilitate activities celebrating the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties to raise mutual understanding between the two peoples.

She also urged all possible support to the Vietnamese community in the state to integrate into the host community.

The Victoria Governor and Premier spoke highly of strong and vibrant development of Vietnam – Australia ties across economy, trade, national defence-security, education, science-technology and tourism since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties 45 years ago.

The upgrade of bilateral ties to strategic partnership level during Australia’s visit by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in March 2018 was an important evidence of their relationship, which was partly contributed by the two countries’ localities, including Victoria, they said.

Governor Dessau said education-training and tourism are strengths of the state. Tens of thousands of local people visit Vietnam each year while over 13,000 Vietnamese students are pursuing studies in the state.

She suggested cooperating in fields of shared interest such as health care and care for the elderly.

 

Premier Andrews said two-way trade between Vietnam and Victoria hit 1.9 billion USD last year, accounting for nearly one-third of the total between Vietnam and Australia.

He welcomed the upcoming opening of a branch of the Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) in Melbourne and vowed to realise a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Victoria and Vietnamese localities, especially in trade, investment, education-training, agriculture, urban development, environment, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

The hosts committed all possible support for Vietnamese community in the state to contribute to the development of the two countries and their relations.-VNA