Comprehensive strategic partnership a new chapter in Vietnam-Australia relations

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second left) engages in extensive discussions with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (second right) - photo: VGP

Deep, substantive and efficient cooperation

On March 7, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told the media the results of their talk.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that in 2023, Australia and Vietnam celebrated the 50^th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. During those five decades, Australia and Vietnam have built a long-term partnership based on trust, mutual respect, family and community ties, as well as a shared vision of an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Upgrading the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership will make Australia and Vietnam each other's most important partner.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes that Vietnam and Australia bring their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership to promote deep, substantive and effective cooperation in various areas such as climate change prevention, energy transition, natural resources, including important mineral supply chains, digitization, innovation, trade and investment, agriculture, defense, education, and training.

The Australian PM expressed his delight that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia includes pillars of cooperation in climate change, environmental protection and energy collaboration, as both Australia and Vietnam are committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Both sides will establish an annual dialogue mechanism among trade ministers, reach agreements to enhance the monitoring of climate change’s impact on the marine environment, make digitization, scientific-technological cooperation and innovation new pillars of the bilateral relationship, and boost bilateral trade and investment ties.

The Vietnamese-Australian trade reached AUD25.7 billion in 2022, up 75 percent from 2020. Both sides agree to facilitate market access for each other's agricultural products, with the goal of diversifying supply chains for both countries.

The two parties agree to effectively implement the memorandum of understanding on science, technology and innovation cooperation. Australia will support Vietnam's small- and medium-sized enterprises in technology transfer.

Improvements in Vietnamese-Australian cooperation

During his visit to Melbourne, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership will contribute to strengthening and deepening the bilateral cooperation, meeting the shared aspirations of the two countries’ people for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the rest of the world.

The PM emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership will lead to a higher political and diplomatic trust; more comprehensive, substantial and effective economic, trade, and investment cooperation; enhanced cooperation in science, technology, innovation, digitization and green transformation; deeper cooperation in culture, education, training, environmental protection and comprehensive response to climate change; increased and more sincerely people-to-people and generation-to-generation exchanges and connections; and better understanding, empathy and sharing of national security and defense, aiming for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the rest of the world.

The Vietnamese and Australian prime ministers agreed to deepen regional and international cooperation, and further coordinate and support each other in multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and ASEAN-led mechanisms. They also encouraged cooperation mechanisms in the Mekong sub-region and expressed the desire for the early resolution of conflicts around the world through peaceful means.

Both sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, aka South China Sea. They agreed to resolve disputes through peaceful means based on international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), and to exchange information and enhance cooperation to make the East Sea a region of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation and comprehensive development, benefiting the people of the region and relevant countries.

Both sides agreed to create favorable conditions and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the people and businesses of both countries to live, work and study in each country. The Vietnamese PM thanked Australia for creating conditions and supporting Vietnamese students and more than 350,000 Vietnamese people living and working in Australia. Meanwhile, Vietnam always welcomes and creates favorable conditions for Australian citizens and businesses to study, work, do business and invest in Vietnam.

The two prime ministers also pledged to deepen bilateral trade and investment relations, enhance economic cooperation, and create a more open environment for trade and investment through regional and global economic integration. They also reaffirmed their commitment to fully and effectively implementing the Vietnam-Australia economic cooperation strategy, complemented by the implementation of Australia's Southeast Asia economic strategy to 2040.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that Australia provide favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to operate and invest in Australia while welcoming Australian businesses to invest in Vietnam, especially in high-quality, modern technology projects, which are Australia's strengths. Vietnam also called on Australian technology companies to collaborate with its innovation centers, software parks and semiconductor manufacturers.

“We are delighted and confident that with the official elevation of our relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam and Australia have entered a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations, towards substantial, efficient, comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable cooperation in various fields, meeting the practical aspirations and interests of the people of both countries, and making positive contribution to peace, stability, cooperation, development and friendship in the region and the rest of the world,” emphasized Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.