Bringing Vietnam-Australia relations to a new page of development

At the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife will attend the Special Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations and pay an official visit to Australia from March 5. The visit to Australia by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife contributes to strengthening the friendship and promoting multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, bringing the relationship to a new stage of development.

Strong Strategic Partnership

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1973, Australia and Vietnam have built a strong and enduring relationship with diverse and growing interests. The bilateral relationship continues to grow from strength to strength and Vietnam is now considered one of Australia’s most important bilateral partners. The two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership in 2009, which was upgraded to an Enhanced Comprehensive Partnership in 2015. Building on these achievements and to promote deeper and more substantive cooperation, the two sides upgraded the relationship to a Strategic Partnership in March 2018 and continue to work towards new heights in the bilateral relationship.

General Secretary Do Muoi and Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents between the two countries during his official visit to Australia in 1995. (Photo: Xuan Lam/VNA)

Former Governor-General Peter Cosgove once shared: "Australia is proud to have a friend like Vietnam," and Foreign Minister Penny Wong once affirmed: "Australia hopes to be a better partner of Vietnam." According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh, it is commendable that in the 1980s, when Vietnam faced many difficulties, Australia proactively developed a multifaceted relationship with Vietnam. Australia's official development assistance (ODA) was implemented as early as 1973, only temporarily suspended. Australia also participated in supporting Vietnam in some essential infrastructure, such as the 500kV North-South power line, the My Thuan and Cao Lanh bridges, modern telecommunications and banking systems, etc. In recent years, many Western countries have cut back, but Australia still maintains ODA for Vietnam, increasing by 18% in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. In recent years, cooperation between the two countries has expanded rapidly. The bilateral relationship spans many areas, from security, defense, trade, investment toeducation, tourism, and innovation. This development is thanks to the strong commitments of the two countries' senior leaders, through high-level visits and all-level visits. The exchange of delegations and high-level contacts has always been maintained, notably in recent times: Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (January 2021); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone call with Prime Minister Scott Morrison (May 2021), met Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the sidelines of COP-26 (November 2021), had a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (October 18, 2022), met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the 41st ASEAN Summit (in Cambodia, November 2022) and at the expanded G7 Summit (in Japan, May 2023); National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue held online talks with Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Tony Smith (June 2021), paid an official visit to Australia (November 2022); Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan met with Governor-General David Hurley (in the Philippines, August 2022); Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son paid an official visit to Australia (September 2022); President Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the APEC Summit (in Thailand, November 2022); President Vo Van Thuong met with Governor-General David Hurley and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the inauguration ceremony of King Charles III of England (May 2023)...

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received Australian Governor-General David Hurley on a state visit to Vietnam on the afternoon of April 4, 2023. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

On the Australian side, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne paid an official visit to Vietnam (November 2021); Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong paid an official visit (June 2022); Australian Governor-General David Hurley paid a State visit to Vietnam (April 3-6, 2023); Australian Minister of Trade and Tourism Don Farrell visited and worked in Vietnam and co-chaired the 3rd Vietnam-Australia Economic Partnership Ministerial Meeting (April 2023); Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid an official visit to Vietnam on June 3 and 4, 2023... Bilateral cooperation mechanisms between the two countries are flexibly implemented both in person and online. Currently, there are more than 20 bilateral cooperation mechanisms flexibly maintained, including important mechanisms such as: annual meetings of the two Prime Ministers, two Foreign Ministers, two Defense Ministers, and the Economic Partnership Conference and cooperation between localities. To date, the two sides have held the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Two Prime Ministers (online, January 2021), the 4th Annual Meeting of Foreign Ministers (September 2022), the 3rd Economic Partnership Meeting at the Ministerial level (April 2023), the Security Dialogue at the Deputy Ministerial level (December 2022), the 8th Strategic Dialogue at the Deputy Ministerial level of Foreign Affairs and Defense (May 2023), the 3rd Defense Policy Dialogue at the Deputy Ministerial level of Defense (October 2019), the Working Group on ODA (September 2019), the Working Group on Trade (October 2019) and the Consultation mechanisms at the Department/Directorate level.

The training and exchange course on military shooting skills between Vietnam and Australia was organized by the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam in 2020. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Regarding multilateral cooperation, the two countries cooperate well at regional and international forums such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)... Australia supports Vietnam to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (July 2022) for the 2022-2026 term, and closely coordinate as co-chairs of the Southeast Asia Program of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the 2022-2025 period...

Economic, trade and many other fields cooperation are increasingly effective.

Assessing the cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski said that the Vietnam-Australia relationship has many bright spots, just like when looking up at the starry night sky, one cannot determine which star stands out. The first highlight, according to Ambassador Goledzinowski, is trade cooperation, as this area of ​​cooperation has grown very rapidly in recent years. This reflects Vietnam's growing prosperity, but also demonstrates the complementary nature of the two economies. In 2023, according to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, two-way import-export turnover reached nearly 14 billion USD. Vietnam's export turnover to Australia reached 5.2 billion USD. Vietnam's import turnover from Australia reached 8.5 billion USD. Vietnam's trade deficit with Australia was worth 3.3 billion USD. A representative of the Asia-Africa Market Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) said that in 2023, Australia will be Vietnam's 10th largest trading partner (ranked 13th in exports and 9th in imports). On the other hand, Vietnam will be Australia's 10th largest trading partner (ranked 10th in exports to Australia and 10th in imports from Australia).

Exporting a batch of Yen The late longan to the Australian market. (Photo: VNA)

In particular, Australia is currently an important market supplying input materials for a number of industrial and energy sectors of Vietnam such as coal (accounting for 45.77% of total import turnover of this group of goods from the world ), ores and minerals (accounting for 44.78%) in 2023. Regarding investment, by the end of January 2024, Australia was also the 20th largest FDI investor in Vietnam with 630 projects and a total FDI capital of more than 2 billion USD. Mr. Nguyen Phu Hoa - Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, commented that bilateral trade between Vietnam and Australia in January 2024 had a very positive recovery and growth. The total trade turnover of goods between Vietnam and Australia in January 2024 reached 1.25 billion USD, an increase of 43.4% over the same period in 2023.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Australia in January 2024 recovered and grew very positively. Total trade turnover between Vietnam and Australia in January 2024 reached 1.25 billion USD, up 43.4% over the same period in 2023.

Australia has opened its doors to lychees, mangoes, dragon fruits, longans, and frozen shrimp from Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam is pushing for Australia to allow the import of passion fruit, rambutan, star apple, fresh coconut, durian, and whole fresh shrimp. In return, Australia is pushing Vietnam to open its doors to the import of deer meat, kangaroo meat, honey, peaches, and nectarines. The trade prospects between Vietnam and Australia are huge, as both countries are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) - a new generation trade agreement that is inclusive and open.

Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh at the launching ceremony of the program to build the brand of tra and basa fish in Australia and to market whole frozen passion fruit from Vietnam. (Photo: Dieu Linh/VNA)

In addition, Vietnam and Australia have also announced and implemented the Economic Engagement Strategy, along with the Roadmap to promote trade and investment relations between the two countries in the 2021-2025 period. This strategy emphasizes the importance of complying with and strengthening the global trading system based on international rules, which is the basis for promoting free trade and working together to address common challenges. The Economic Engagement Strategy aims to double two-way investment and become one of each other's top 10 trading partners. In terms of investment, by the end of January 2024, Australia was also the 20th largest FDI investor in Vietnam with 630 projects, total FDI capital worth more than 2 billion USD. In terms of official development assistance (ODA), Australia always provides Vietnam with a stable source of ODA. In the 50 years since establishing diplomatic relations, Australia has provided Vietnam with a total of 3 billion AUD (about 47,000 billion VND) in ODA. In the 2022-2023 fiscal year alone, Australia increased ODA to Vietnam by 18%, the largest increase in ODA since 2015. The Australian Government's ODA to Vietnam focuses on the fields of innovation; supporting the development and effective use of a highly skilled workforce; enhancing economic empowerment for women, including ethnic minorities; responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; facilitating and attracting the participation of the private sector in socio-economic development. In addition, cooperation in the fields of security, defense, education-training, labor, agriculture , etc. has developed well and has much potential. Notably, the two countries are interested in promoting a number of new areas of cooperation such as climate change response, digital transformation, energy transformation, etc. Regarding education, Australia began awarding scholarships to Vietnamese students in February 1975. Currently, there are about 31,000 Vietnamese students and postgraduates studying in Australia (90% self-funded).

Australia began awarding scholarships to Vietnamese students in February 1975. There are currently about 31,000 Vietnamese students and researchers studying in Australia.

In terms of defense, the two countries cooperate in the fields of peacekeeping , border security, law enforcement, etc. to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling, and many other types of transnational crimes. In the field of agriculture, both countries have strengths and traditions in developing high-quality agricultural products but are located in two regions with opposite seasons and climates. Vietnam, with its tropical, hot, humid, rainy climate and fertile land, has strengths in diverse tropical agricultural products; Australia, with its dry climate, mostly develops temperate agricultural products, along with some tropical agricultural regions but out of season with Vietnam. The combination of the two countries creates products and supply chains that are complementary to serve the markets of both sides and can be exported to third markets. The two countries have signed an agricultural labor cooperation agreement (March 2022) and continue to coordinate to be able to start implementing it from July 2023. It is expected that 1,000 more Vietnamese workers will be sent to Australia to work each year. Australia has also actively supported Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19, providing more than 26.4 million doses of vaccines, including 12 million doses for adults and more than 14.4 million doses for children, becoming the second largest vaccine donor to Vietnam, after the United States. The Vietnamese community in Australia currently has about 350,000 people, playing an important and indispensable role in promoting friendship and understanding between the people of the two countries.

Building a new path for bilateral relations

Looking back at the outstanding achievements in the Vietnam-Australia relationship, this will certainly be the foundation to create a framework and long-term vision for the relationship between the two countries in the coming time. Vietnam and Australia will continue to strive to build a new path for bilateral relations, on which the two countries will continue to promote more substantive and effective cooperation in economics, trade, security, etc. Evaluating the half-century journey of Vietnam-Australia relations, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski commented: "There has never been a time in history when the relationship between our two countries has been as strong and developed as it is today. The bilateral relationship is built on strong mutual trust as well as practical and effective cooperation in many fields."

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong listens to chef Sam Tran introduce coffee in Hanoi's Old Quarter in August 2023. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

Professor Hal Hill, Emeritus of the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University (ANU), assessed that Australia and Vietnam currently have a very close relationship. The Vietnamese community living, working and studying in Australia is quite large. Trade between the two countries has grown strongly in recent times. According to the Professor, Australia considers Vietnam an economic "star" of the Asian region and that is extremely important. From one of the poorest countries in the world in the 1980s, after Doi Moi, especially in this century, Vietnam has risen to become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. From a low-income country, Vietnam is now a middle-income economy, attracting many international investors. Professor Hal Hill commented that in the future, Vietnam will welcome more investors from all over the world. Despite the challenges ahead, Professor Hal Hill remains optimistic about the future of the Vietnamese economy, emphasizing that, for him, Vietnam is one of the most impressive success stories. Also appreciating the development of Vietnam and the Vietnam-Australia relationship, expert Greg Earl, a former member of the Australia-ASEAN Council and former Southeast Asia correspondent for The Australia Financial Review, commented that the Vietnam-Australia relationship is one of the most prominent chapters in Australia's regional foreign policy in recent years. The two countries have found more space for cooperation, both in the security and economic fields, at a much faster pace than many people expected. Vietnam has become a stable and reliable diplomatic partner. In addition, the Vietnamese community in Australia has played a major role in promoting cooperation and creating a stronger bond between the two countries.

A delegation of students from the University of Adelaide, Australia, visited the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant during a study tour in Vietnam (October 2022). (Photo: VNA)

Expert Greg Earl said that to maintain and further promote the current good relationship, the two countries should strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as within the framework of the ASEAN-Australia relationship to improve economic and security relations. The two countries should also promote people-to-people exchanges in the fields of education and employment. According to expert Greg Earl, based on the fields of interest to both countries, Vietnam and Australia need to build two-way economic links, similar to the links that Australia has long had with North Asian countries./.

Cao Lanh Bridge was invested mainly with non-refundable aid from the Australian Government. (Photo: Nguyen Van Tri/VNA)

(Vietnam+)

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