Australia desires to further strengthen cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City, a significant component of the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong stated.

Minister Wong expressed her sentiment at a meeting with the city’s Party Committee secretary Nguyen Van Nen during a visit to the metropolis on Wednesday as part of her four-day working trip to Vietnam, scheduled for Monday through Thursday, at the invitation of her Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

Looking back on the 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Australia takes pride in its endeavors to promote bilateral relations, including upgrading the ties to a strategic partnership as a robust foundation for both sides to further expand their comprehensive cooperation, Wong told her host.

Australia consistently recognizes Ho Chi Minh City as an important element of the Australia-Vietnam relationship and wishes to deepen multifaceted ties with the Vietnamese economic hub in areas of mutual interest, the diplomat said. 

She went on to note that Australia hopes to coordinate with Vietnam in general, and Ho Chi Minh City specifically, to create a legal framework for educational cooperation to make it easier for Australian academies and universities to establish campuses in the municipality and promote student exchange.

Nen shared his appreciation for Wong’s trip to Vietnam, affirming that it will generate new momentum for the bilateral relationship, especially as the two countries mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the five years of their strategic partnership.

Over the past half a century, Vietnam-Australia relations have experienced vigorous development, with deepened political trust and increasing practical and effective cooperation in all fields, the city’s Party leader said.

Nen told Wong that her visit coincides with the city’s implementation of new policies and mechanisms to further attract foreign investment.

In addition to traditional cooperative areas between the two sides, such as investment, trade, and education, the city is now interested in climate change, energy transition, and social security.

These fields have become a common interest for bilateral cooperation and the Vietnamese side wishes for strong connections with Australian partners in such fields, Nen told his guest.

Wong stated that the Australian government recently decided to provide AU$94.5 million (US$61.2 million) for efforts to develop clean energy and respond to climate change, including those being deployed in the Mekong Delta region.

As part of her stay in the city, the Australian minister participated in a panel with students from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday afternoon.

Australia and Vietnam set up diplomatic ties in 1973 and their relationship has fruitfully developed ever since, with a comprehensive partnership established in 2009 and a strategic partnership coming nine years later.

Currently, Vietnam is Australia’s 10th-largest trading partner while Australia is Vietnam’s seventh-largest trading partner.

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