Australia attaches importance to relations with Vietnam: expert
The official three-day visit, starting on August 21, to Vietnam by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, to co-chair the 5th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the two countries, shows that the Oceania nation attaches importance to the strategic partnership with the Southeast Asian country, Nguyen Hong Hai, Senior Lecturer from VinUniversity, has said.
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) and her Australian counterpart Penny Wong at a meeting last year. (Photo: VNA)
Sydney (VNA)♕ – The official three-dayvisit, starting on August 21, to Vietnam by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, to co-chair the 5th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the two countries, shows that the Oceania nation attaches importance to the strategicpartnership with the Southeast Asian country, Nguyen Hong Hai, Senior Lecturer from VinUniversity, has said.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam NewsAgency, Hai, who is an adjunct senior lecturer of policy and politics at the Faculty of CreativeIndustries, Education and Social Justice under Queensland University ofTechnology’s School of Justice, said this is Wong's second official visit toVietnam and her 4th meeting with Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son since shebecame foreign minister in May last year. The visit comes as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations and five years of strategic partnership this year, he added. Last year, two-way trade turnoverbetween Vietnam and Australia reached a new record of 15.7 billion USD, up26.91% year-on-year. Vietnam has become Australia's 10th biggest trade partner for the first time, and Australia is currently Vietnam's seventh largest trade partner. Accordingto the expert, moreVietnamese and Australian visitors are coming in both directions. Statistics from the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam showed that before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,Vietnam welcomed 300,000Australian visitors and 125,000Vietnamese tourists went to Australia.
Inthe first quarter of this year alone, nearly 82,000 Australian visitors arrived inVietnam, an increase of 14.4% compared to the figure in 2019, whereas the number ofVietnamese visitors to Australia made up 10% of the outbound visitors, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
꧃ To promote trade and investment to a levelthat matches up with potentials and the strategic partnership, the twocountries have signed agreements and founded several mechanisms.
Both Vietnamand Australia are members of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free TradeAgreement (AANZFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),and the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). However, what has been done thus far isinsufficient to accelerate a breakthrough in trade, business, investment, and tourism growth from both sides. More favourable conditions and simplified customsprocedures are required to promote more liberalised flows of trade and toremove barriers that hinder thetraveling of the citizens, Hai said. During talks in her first visit toVietnam last year, leading officials of the two ministries agreed to step up cooperation in the fieldsof tourism, education and labour in the post-pandemic era. Currently, the two countriesare finding ways to makea speedy recovery for the tourism industry which was severely affected by the pandemic while minimising the impact of the conflicts in Ukraine on trade. According to Hai, it was necessary for Vietnam and Australia to strengthen security cooperation and bordercontrol with advanced identification technologies, and hold constructive and candid dialogues as trustedstrategic partners to address each other’s concerns. He stressed that if the two sides adopt a visa exemption policy for each other’scitizens, it will be areal breakthrough, contributing to further strengthening the cooperationrelationship in the coming time./.
Dr. Nguyen Hong Hai, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Futures under the University of Queensland in Australia, has noted that the freshly-concluded visit to Vietnam by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was a success, as reflected through the agreements reached by the two sides on both bilateral and multilateral issues.
The official Vietnam visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been a success, a sign that bilateral relationship will continue to flourish in the future, said co-founder of the Australia-Vietnam Policy Institute Layton Pike.
A Vietnam-Australia business forum was held in Sydney on June 27 to help Vietnamese enterprises know more about the Australian market and connect them with businesses in this Oceania country.
Vietnam is the largest cotton importer of Australia with 38.8% of the market share, according to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) which predicted that Vietnam will hold this position in following years.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the emulation and commendation work is a vital driver, fostering patriotism, dedication, and collective momentum in the run-up to the 11th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, Party congresses at all levels, and the 14th National Party Congress.
Emphasising the need for sustainable, long-term collaboration, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man called on Japanese investors not only to bring in capital but also to share expertise and modern technology, especially in areas such as green transformation, the circular economy, and advanced corporate governance.
President Luong Cuong's activities during his state visit to Angola, the celebration of the financial sector's 80th traditional day, and the Foreign Ministry's flag-hoisting ceremony marking the 58th founding anniversary of ASEAN are among news highlights on August 8.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung praised the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ meaningful initiative, noting that the ASEAN Family Run was not only a sporting activity but also an opportunity for diplomats and their families to show unity, connection, and solidarity within the ASEAN family.
Politburo member, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 8 attended the first congress of the Party Organisation of Tay Ho ward of Hanoi for the 2025–2030 term, during which he called for fresh momentum to turn the ward into a model that takes the lead in all fields.
The size of the economy increased from over 5 billion USD in 1986 to over 476 billion USD by 2024, making Vietnam the fourth-largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 34th largest in the world.
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) and her Australian counterpart Penny Wong at a meeting last year. (Photo: VNA) 
