Vietnam seeks to enhance cooperation with South Australia

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh (second from right) and South Australia’s Governor Frances Adamson (second from left). (Photo: VNA)

Sydney (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh has paid an official visit to South Australia during which he had meetings with the state’s leaders and key organisations to discuss measures to boost bilateral cooperation.

Hosting the ambassador, South Australia’s Governor Frances Adamson said that she chose Vietnam as the first country to pay an official visit in her new position last November because she appreciates the nation’s role and position as well as the great opportunities that are opened up for cooperation between the two countries, including cooperation with her state.

The governor told her guest that education and training, trade, high-tech agriculture, renewable and hydrogen energy, science-technology and digital transformation were defined specific fields for bilateral cooperation during her visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from November 7-10.

She expressed her belief that on the basis of the increasingly close relationship between the two countries, and the proactiveness of the ministries, sectors and businesses of the two sides, the cooperation between South Australia and Vietnam will have a breakthrough in the coming time.

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh (right) and Minister for Tourism and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Zoe Bettison. (Photo: VNA)

Nick Champion, South Australia’s Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Minister for Planning; Zoe Bettison, Minister for Tourism and Minister for Multicultural Affairs; and Terry Stephens, President of the South Australian Legislative Council, all appreciated cooperation prospects between their state and Vietnam, and expressed their willingness to visit the country in 2023.

Champion emphasised that South Australia is attaching increasing importance to the Vietnamese market, especially in terms of trade and education and training. He affirmed that the state is considering adjusting its investment strategy to focus strongly on Asia and Southeast Asia instead of focusing only on domestic investment or the US and European markets.

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh (right) and Nick Champion, South Australia’s Minister for Trade and Investment. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, Bettison recognised the positive contributions of the 17,000-strong Vietnamese community in South Australia, and showed support for preserving the cultural diversity and maintaining Vietnamese language teaching.

Informing the hosts about Vietnam's economic development in recent years, Ambassador Thanh proposed South Australia pay attention to implementing the country’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 and encourage more businesses to invest in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh (fourth from left) and representatives of education agencies and universities in South Australia. (Photo: VNA) 

 On this occasion, he also had two roundtables with representatives from the Department for Education, the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, and Flinders University.

On February 28, Ambassador Thanh and Vietnamese Consul General in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland Nguyen Dang Thang attended a ceremony to mark the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia organised by the South Australia-Vietnam Business Council in Adelaide./.

VNA