Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Governor General of Australia David Hurley

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Governor-General of Australia David Hurley. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his pleasure to meet the Governor-General and his wife again after the Governor-General and his wife's state visit to Vietnam in April 2023; and expressed his gratitude for the warm and respectful welcome of the Australian people, the Governor-General and his wife personally for the Prime Minister, his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully conveyed to the Governor-General the greetings of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and key leaders of Vietnam; and congratulated Australia on successfully organizing the Special Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations.

The Prime Minister thanked Australia for its valuable support to Vietnam in the past and present, notably the construction of the My Thuan and Cao Lanh bridges in the Mekong Delta, helping Vietnam transport a field hospital to South Sudan to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping force, and training high-quality human resources for Vietnam.

Governor General David Hurley recalled his good impressions of his visit to Vietnam, including planting a souvenir tree with President Vo Van Thuong at the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department in Thach That; and expressed his wish to return to visit Vietnam soon.

The Governor-General said he had heard Prime Minister Anthony Albanese report on the good results of the Special Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations, including the active contributions of the Vietnamese delegation; and assessed that the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 of the Australian Government's Special Envoy to Southeast Asia has many important cooperation contents, which are the basis for Australia to build stronger relations with ASEAN countries.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the good development of bilateral relations after more than half a century of establishing diplomatic relations, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in education, culture and people-to-people exchange.

The two leaders also appreciated the two countries' upgrading of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on this occasion, considering this an important milestone in developing the Vietnam-Australia relationship further deeply and strongly, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries and actively contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Australia to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, work and study in Australia; maintain the Vietnamese language, traditions and culture; facilitate procedures for Vietnamese students and welcome Australian citizens to study, work, do business and invest in Vietnam.

The Australian Governor-General suggested that Vietnam continue to facilitate major Australian universities to open training facilities in Vietnam. After the meeting, the Australian Governor-General personally drove a tram to take the Prime Minister and his wife on a tour of the Governor-General's Palace.

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