During his 6-day visit to Australia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had more than 30 activities, the highlights of which were his speech at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and upgrading the two countries' relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife visited Australia from March 4-9, marking his first visit to the country as head of government.
The Prime Minister's first activity was to cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Australia-Vietnam Policy Institute at RMIT University in Melbourne on the morning of March 5. The institute was established to research the strategic relationship between Australia and Vietnam, contributing to the implementation of the country's "Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040".
According to the Prime Minister, the Institute will actively and effectively participate in the policy advisory process, promoting and improving the quality of relations between the two countries.
The government leader then spoke at the Vietnam-Australia Business Forum. He called on Australian businessmen to invest in Vietnam in the spirit of "harmonious benefits and shared risks". With the policy of cooperation and selective foreign investment attraction, Vietnam prioritizes attracting projects in the fields of green economy, digital economy, semiconductors, and renewable energy.
Currently, Australian enterprises have more than 630 projects and more than 2.03 billion USD in registered capital, ranking 20th out of 145 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, mostly in the processing and manufacturing sectors. In return, Vietnam has invested in Australia in more than 90 projects with a total investment capital of more than 550 million USD.
On the evening of March 5, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Convention Center in Melbourne, during the official welcoming ceremony for the Heads of Delegations attending the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit.
The conference was held over two days, March 5-6, with the participation of leaders of ASEAN countries, Australia and the ASEAN Secretary General. The Prime Minister of Timor Leste was invited to attend as an observer.
Australia was one of the first partners to establish dialogue relations with ASEAN in 1974. The two sides upgraded their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2014 and a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021.
At the sessions of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit on March 6, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed directions for ASEAN-Australia relations, including three breakthroughs, three enhancements and three togethernesses.
The Prime Minister said that there needs to be a breakthrough in economic, trade and investment cooperation towards balance and sustainability; human resource development; cooperation in science - technology and innovation.
He proposed enhancing political trust and cooperation to ensure regional peace and security; increasing sub-regional cooperation, narrowing the development gap for inclusive and sustainable development; and increasing cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange.
The "three togethers" between ASEAN and Australia are to jointly build a united and self-reliant region, jointly promote regional respect for international law and rule-based behavior; jointly build and shape an open, inclusive regional structure, promoting multilateralism with ASEAN playing a central role, being the core factor helping to gather and harmonize interests among major countries.
After two days of attending the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh began his official visit to Australia from March 7-9. The welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife was held at the Parliament House in Canberra on the morning of March 7 with a 19-gun salute.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reviews the guard of honour before holding talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relations in February 1973, then upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in March 2018.
After the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed to upgrade Vietnam-Australia relations to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Vietnam has established Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships with China, Russia, India, South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
At a joint press conference afterwards, the two Prime Ministers affirmed that this new framework will contribute to enhancing political trust and further deepening the Vietnam-Australia cooperative relationship, meeting the common aspirations of the people of the two countries.
The two sides will closely coordinate to implement the "6 more points", including higher and more strategic political and diplomatic trust; more comprehensive, substantive and effective economic, trade and investment cooperation; stronger promotion of science - technology cooperation, innovation, digital transformation and green transformation; more comprehensive and profound cooperation in culture, education - training, environment and climate change response; more open and sincere people-to-people exchange and connection between generations; more understanding, sympathy and sharing on national defense and security cooperation.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife Le Thi Bich Tran also met with Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and his wife Linda Hurley; Sharon Claydon, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairwoman of the Australia-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group; President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines; and Leader of the Australian Liberal Party Peter Dutton.
After the meeting, the Governor-General of Australia drove a tram to take the Prime Minister and his wife on a tour of the Governor-General's Palace. Mr. Tran Ba Phuc, Chairman of the Vietnamese Business Association in Australia, said that Australia welcomed the Prime Minister very specially. "The fact that the Governor-General of Australia personally drove the Prime Minister to visit the Governor-General's Palace is very rare, not every country's leader is given such a ceremony," Mr. Phuc said.
Science, technology and innovation are among the areas that the Prime Minister has prioritized to promote cooperation. On the morning of March 8, the Prime Minister visited and worked at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), one of the world's largest multidisciplinary science and technology organizations.
Prime Minister and Co-Minister of Foreign Affairs Tim Watts witnessed Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat and CSIRO Director General Doug Hilton exchange a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of science, technology and innovation.
According to the memorandum, the two sides will cooperate in seven main areas: encouraging joint research activities; exchanging information, documents and transferring technology; supporting training; co-funding joint research projects; encouraging joint publication of cooperation results; supporting the implementation of cooperation programs and identifying new areas of cooperation.
With the desire to further promote educational cooperation between the two countries, the Prime Minister visited and worked with the President of RMIT University, attended the inauguration ceremony of the Vietnam - Australia Policy Institute, and attended and spoke at the Vietnam - Australia Education and Training Cooperation Forum.
Speaking at the Forum, the Prime Minister suggested that Australia double the number of scholarships in the next 2-3 years, as well as facilitate visas for Vietnamese students. He hoped that the two countries would increase the number and improve the quality of cooperation and training programs between higher education institutions, focusing on research, development and application of science and technology.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son and Australian Minister of Education Anthony Chisholm then witnessed the signing ceremony of eight cooperation documents between universities; prioritizing cooperation in railway construction, smart cities, semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, etc.
On his last day in Australia, the Prime Minister met and listened to representatives of the Vietnam Business Association and the Association of Intellectuals and Scientists in Australia give advice on building the country.
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