Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen greeted Margaret Beazley, governor of Australia’s New South Wales, on Tuesday on the former’s working visit to the city to boost two-way partnership.

New South Wales is Australia’s most populous state.

Some 10,000 Vietnamese students are studying in New South Wales, whose capital city is Sydney.

Ho Chi Minh City Party chief Nen said that the potential for cooperation between the city and Australian states, especially New South Wales, remains high.

He also eyed stronger partnership with Australian localities in workforce training, logistics, and infrastructure development to ride out challenges over economic growth.

The governor of New South Wales stated her appreciation for the cooperative programs between Ho Chi Minh City and New South Wales, and the expectation of further tourism collaboration between the two localities.

Governor Beazley also underlined that the achievements from the Ho Chi Minh City - New South Wales partnership contributed to deepening the ties between Vietnam and Australia.

At the meeting, the two leaders expressed their pleasure at the positive results of the multifaceted Vietnam - Australia cooperation.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Australia is one of Vietnam’s seven biggest trade partners, while the Southeast Asian country is Australia’s 10th-largest trade partner, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Australia was the first Western nation to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam after the Paris agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam, or the Paris Peace Accords, was signed in January 1973.

Over the past 50 years, the Vietnam - Australia relationship has flourished in various areas, especially education with more than 31,000 Vietnamese students studying in Australia. 

Trade between the two nations totaled VND370.3 trillion (US$15.7 billion) in 2022, up 26.9 percent against 2021.

Of the total, Vietnam exported goods worth VND131.8 trillion ($5.6 billion) to Australia, up 26.2 percent year on year, while the former’s imports from the latter were valued at over VND238 trillion ($10.1 billion), up 27.3 percent from the 2021 figure.

Australian investors are involved in 280 projects in Ho Chi Minh City, with total pledged capital of VND4.7 trillion ($200 million), said Ho Chi Minh City Party chief Nen.

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