Vietnam a reliable partner helping boost ASEAN-Australia ties: expert

Greg Earl, former member of the Australia - ASEAN Council. (Photo: VNA)

Melbourne (VNA) - Vietnam has become an important partner of Australiaand in recent years, the relations between the two countries have grown closer than any other, Greg Earl, formermember of the Australia - ASEAN Council said on the sidelines of the ASEAN - AustraliaSpecial Summit which wrapped up in Melbourne on March 6.

He assessed that Vietnam has achieved greatsuccesses in the field of economic regulation, adjusting rules andopening the economy.

Therefore, Australia considers Vietnam areliable partner to develop its closer economic cooperation with Vietnam inparticular and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in general.

The expert also expressed his belief thatthis summit will bring about optimistic signals to the ASEAN-Australiarelationship, of which Vietnam is an indispensable part and has an importantvoice.

Regarding the ASEAN-Australia relations,Greg Earl, former correspondent in Southeast Asia of "The AustralianFinancial Review", stated that Australia is paying attention to attractingmore investment flows from the ASEAN countries to Australia and vice versa.

To further promote this relationship, hesaid that, in addition to the common solutions proposed by this summit,Australia should consider establishing a centre for ASEAN studies to facilitate further research on the bilateral relationship, andallow more exchanges between researchers to help Australia gain a deeperunderstanding of the ASEAN countries.

Australia should also consider grantingmore scholarships to young ASEAN students and researchers, he added./.

VNA