Hanoi (VNA) - President Tran Dai Quang and Governor-Generalof Australia Peter Cosgrove have agreed to strengthen political andstrategic trust between the two countries by enhancing the exchange of visitsand meetings.

They reached the consensus at their talks in Hanoi on May 24, which was held immediatelyafter the official welcome ceremony for the Australian guest, who started hisState visit to Vietnam, the first official one as Governor-General ofAustralia, on May 23.

President Quang highlighted the significance of the Governor-General’s  visit, expressinghis belief that it will contribute greatly to promoting the Vietnam-Australia strategicpartnership.

The Australian leader congratulated Vietnam on its important achievements inthe nation-construction and development cause, as well as its increasing roleand position in the region and the world.

He affirmed Australia always attaches importance to the friendship with Vietnamand hopes to further deepen the newly-established strategic partnership.

The leaders expressed their joy at the strong and effective development of Vietnam-Australiarelations in recent times, saying that the regular exchange of high-rankingdelegations at all levels reflected the two sides’ respect for the reinforcementof their political trust and mutual understanding.

They assessed that the two countries have reaped encouraging outcomes in theireconomic ties.

The countries’ two-way trade value hit nearly 6.5 billion USD in 2017.Australia has poured 1.8 billion USD in 400 projects in Vietnam, ranking 19th out of 129 countries and territories investing in the country.

They agreed to continue organising activities to celebrate the 45th anniversaryof diplomatic ties, thus raising public awareness of the bilateral relations.

The leaders stressed the need to improve the efficiency of existing bilateralcooperation mechanisms, and promote newly-formed cooperation mechanisms such asEconomic partnership, Innovation partnership, Agriculture partnership, and themeeting of Foreign Ministers.

The two sides should make more efforts to push pillar cooperation fields suchas security-defence; economy-trade; science-technology; education-training; anddevelopment aid, towards expanding their collaboration in other potentialdomains, they said.

President Quang suggested the two sides seriously take into account tradebarriers, which can affect their key exports; and devise policies encouraging Vietnameseand Australian enterprises to increase investment in the fields of Australia’sstrength and Vietnam’s demand, including energy, infrastructure, telecommunication,finance-banking, mining, manufacturing, hi-tech agriculture, education andtourism.

The Governor-General affirmed Australia willcontinue to promote security-defence links with Vietnam, focusing on training, andjoining the UN peacekeeping force, adding that his country will also activelysupport Vietnam in solving post-war UXO consequences.

The country will also provide Vietnam with information related to missingVietnamese officers in the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding signedbetween the two sides in 2015, he added.

President Quang thanked the Australian side for continuing to give Vietnam a priorityin its official development assistance (ODA) provision, affirming thatAustralia-funded development projects have been implemented effectively inVietnam.

After the construction of My Thuan bridge, Cao Lanh bridge built with Australianfunding in the Mekong Delta region will be put into use on May 27, markingitself as a vivid symbol of Vietnam-Australia friendship, he stressed.

The leaders also highlighted the potential for the two countries to expandtheir collaboration in education-training, culture exchange, tourism, labourand sports, saying that these can directly help enhance the friendship betweenthe two sides.

President Quang noted a sharp increase in the number ofVietnamese coming to study in Australia, which has reached nearly 30,000presently.

He mentioned the fact that around 1,000 Australians visitedVietnam under exchange programmes and the New Colombo Plan.

Meanwhile, the Australian leader showed his impression at the number of 400,000Australians visiting Vietnam in 2017.

They agreed to make it easy for the two countries’ airline firms to open moredirect flights connecting their big cities, and encourage their citizens to jointhe Vietnam-Australia Work and Holidayprogramme.

During their talks, the leaders also compared notes onregional and international issues of common concern.

They also affirmed mutual support at regional and international forums,especially the UN, ASEAN, and cooperation mechanisms led by ASEAN; consistentstance in East Sea-related issues; and close cooperation in implementing the freshly-signedComprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The Australian leader invited President Quang to visit Australia in aconvenient time.-VNA