Sydney(VNA) ཧ– Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will focus on strengtheningeconomic, security and people to people cooperation between Australia andVietnam during his forthcoming visit to Vietnam from August 22-24.

Morrison affirmedthis in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and The Voice ofVietnam (VOV) ahead of his visit. The following is thefull text of the interview.

1. Australia andVietnam have just elevated the bilateral relationship to strategic partnershipwhich serves as a firm foundation for a deeper and wider cooperation betweenthe two countries. Could you please tell us how significant your upcoming visitto Vietnam would be in this context?

Answer: Australia’srelationship with Vietnam has never been stronger. I am looking forward tomeeting again with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to discuss ways to driveforward the strategic partnership which we established in 2018. Vietnam mattersgreatly to Australia. We are committed to this vital relationship and we wantto fulfil its potential. My focus during the visit will be strengtheningeconomic, security and people to people cooperation between our two countries.We share a similar outlook on our region and the world. As countries, we bothwant open trade and freedom of the high seas. As people, we are pragmatic andstraight forward. Over the past few years, trade between us has deepened andstrengthened. Australia and Vietnam face uncertain times andglobal economic headwinds. My Government is strongly committed to deepeningAustralia’s relations with Southeast Asia and with ASEAN, and our engagementwith friends and partners, like Vietnam, is more important than ever tomaintaining the security and prosperity of our two peoples.

2. What are the key issues and areas of yourfocus that you would like to exchange views with leaders of Vietnam during thevisit and how important would they contribute to fostering the Australia-Vietnam Strategic Partnership and to bringing the best benefits to the peoples ofthe two countries?

Answer: I am looking forward to working withPrime Minister Phuc to identify ways in which we can deepen and broaden thetrade and investment relationship between our two countries. We are building atrue economic partnership. Our two-way trade hit a record 14.5 billion AUD in2018 – a doubling since 2012, growing by 11 percent annually over the past fiveyears. Only our trade with India is growing at a faster rate. Our investmentrelationship is also expanding, reaching 3.2 billion AUD in 2018. We arepartners in APEC, the Trade Pacific Partnership and the ASEAN-Australia-NewZealand FTA. We are working together to conclude the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership this year. Vietnam’s strong economic fundamentals –political stability, a network of free trade agreements, competitive labourcosts and a favourable geography – position it well for future growth. Thegovernment’s commitment to ongoing economic reform and embrace of trade liberalisationis to be commended. Australian commodities, like coal, iron oreand cotton are helping to fuel Vietnam’s economic development and globallysignificant manufacturing industry. Australian education is training the nextgeneration of Vietnamese workers with the skills for the digital and data age.Australian exports of beef, wheat, wine and horticultural products areincreasingly served in restaurants and enjoyed around family dining tablesacross Vietnam.

3. In 2020, Vietnam will assume the ASEANChair and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Couldyou please share with us your views on how this would help enhance thebilateral cooperation between Australia and Vietnam in sustaining peace,stability and prosperity in the region?

Answer: BothAustralia and Vietnam want to see an Indo-Pacific region that is securestrategically, stable economically and sovereign politically. We have a sharedneighbourhood. For over two decades, Australia and Vietnam have worked togetheron this vision. Our bilateral cooperation stretches from maritime security(ships visits, exercises and training with a recent highlight being the visitof Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019), to counter terrorism (Special Forces exchangesand exercises), aviation safety, and military medicine (training and visits).ASEAN - a grouping of independent, sovereign states committed to promotingstability and prosperity - sits at the centre of Australia’s vision forSoutheast Asia. My Government is committed to further strengthening Australia’sties with ASEAN, including during Vietnam’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020, tobuild an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region where trade,capital and ideas flow freely, and the rights of all states are respected. Welook forward to working with Vietnam on its agenda for ASEAN next year. Australia also looks forward to working withVietnam during its term as a non-permanent member of the United NationsSecurity Council in 2020. We have developed an increasingly strong defencerelationship over the past 21 years. One practical highlight of our growingdefence relationship is our provision of airlift to Vietnam to help deploy 63personnel and their equipment to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan(UNMISS) on 1 October 2018. We have provided English language and peacekeepingtraining support to Vietnamese peacekeepers since 2011, and more recently wehave provided Vietnam with a range of equipment and vehicles to support itsdeployments. The very practical success of our United Nations peacekeepingcooperation was reflected in the Joint Vision Statement on Further DefenceCooperation signed by our Defence Ministers in November 2018. The AustralianDefence Force looks forward to continuing to strengthen engagement with Vietnamand assisting the Vietnamese People’s Army to prepare for future UN deploymentsin response to common security challenges.-VNA