Australia pledges over $69mn in aid to Vietnam
Sunday, June 04, 2023, 20:42 GMT+7
Australia will provide an aid package worth AU$105 million (US$69.4 million) for Vietnam to develop sustainable infrastructure, and speed up energy transition, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made this announcement at a talk with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on Sunday.
Besides, the aid is also aimed at helping the Southeast Asian nation develop the mining industry.
Vietnam and Australia are striving to achieve $20 billion in bilateral trade in the coming time, the Vietnamese prime minister said at the talk, as part of the top Australian official’s visit to Vietnam.
Two-way trade totaled some $16 billion in 2022, up some 30 percent against 2021.
The two nations will shore up their connectivity of transport and the partnership in the financial, banking, and e-commerce fields.
Australia is also committed to creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese farm produce to enter its market.
The two nations will enhance the educational cooperation to strengthen highly-skilled workforces.
Over 300,000 Vietnamese citizens are living, working, and studying in Australia, said Australian PM Albanese.
RMIT University announced a new strategic investment fund to expand its operation in Ho Chi Minh City, witnessed by the Australian prime minister during his visit to the campus in Hanoi on Saturday.
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| Vietnamese Prime Minister Chinh (R) shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Albanese before their talks on June 4, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre |
Besides, the Australian official said that Western Sydney University would grant 60 scholarships to Vietnamese students.
Vietnam and Australia are eyeing tourism cooperation. Vietnam has two airlines that are operating direct air routes to Australia, with Vietjet’s air service linking Brisbane City, which will host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Prime Minister Chinh said that Vietnam and Australia would deepen their partnership in climate change response, digitalization, green transition, and circular economic development.
“We are pleased to announce the extension of the Aus4Innovation development assistance program. Accordingly, Australian agencies will collaborate with Vietnamese ones to advance research activities,” said Albanese.
Apart from these support programs and cooperative agreements, the two leaders put forward some solutions to upgrade the bilateral relations as soon as possible, heard a press conference.
After the two leaders’ talks, they witnessed the exchange of four cooperation instruments in the science-technology, financial, education, and trade fields.
Among them was the memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the establishment of a trade dialogue at the ministerial level.
Vietnamese low-cost airline Vietjet received a certificate for the Ho Chi Minh City - Brisbane air route, witnessed by the two top officials, while Vietnam’s national flag carrier announced its plan to open the Hanoi - Melbourne route at the event.
Australian Prime Minister Albanese arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Saturday for his two-day Vietnam visit.
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| The prime ministers of Vietnam (R, back row) and Australia (L, back row) witness a representative of Vietjet receiving a certificate for the launch of a nonstop air route between Vietnam and Australia, June 4, 2023. Photo: Nhat Bac / Tuoi Tre |
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