Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Melbourne, starting a visit to Australia that will last until March 9.
The plane carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife Le Thi Bich Tran landed at Melbourne Airport on the evening of March 4. This is the first time a Vietnamese Prime Minister has visited Australia in 7 years, and also Mr. Pham Minh Chinh's first visit to this country as head of government.
Welcoming the Prime Minister at Melbourne airport were Australian Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski, and Prime Minister's Liaison Officer Alexandria John. On the Vietnamese side, there were Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam and his wife, Vietnamese Consul General in Sydney Nguyen Dang Thang, and officials from the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia.
During the trip, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the Special Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations and pay an official visit to Australia at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Australian Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife at Melbourne airport on March 4. Photo: Nhat Bac
The Special Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations will take place on March 5-6 in Melbourne, with the participation of leaders of ASEAN countries, Australia and the ASEAN Secretary-General. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the main sessions and have a number of foreign affairs activities at the conference.
During his official visit to Australia, the Prime Minister will hold talks with the Australian Prime Minister, meet with the President of the Senate and Governor-General of Australia, receive opposition leaders, attend the opening ceremony of the Australia-Vietnam Policy Institute, and attend the Vietnam-Australia Business Forum...
The two sides are expected to sign and exchange many cooperation documents in the fields of education, energy, minerals, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, science and technology, innovation, justice, finance, trade and investment.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shakes hands with Vietnamese diplomats in Australia. Photo: Nhat Bac
Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relations in February 1973, then upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in March 2018.
Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 will reach 13.8 billion USD. Australia is Vietnam's 7th largest trading partner and Vietnam is Australia's 10th largest partner. Australia has opened its doors to lychee, mango, dragon fruit, longan, and frozen shrimp from Vietnam.
Australia is one of the largest bilateral partners providing non-refundable ODA to Vietnam. In the 50 years since establishing diplomatic relations, Australia has provided a total of 3 billion AUD in ODA to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese community in Australia has about 350,000 people, ranking 5th among foreign ethnic communities in Australia.
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