Vietnam and Australia have pledged to boost two-way trade to US$20 billion and double bilateral investment in two to three years, while fostering cooperation in many other fields to effectively bring into play their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines made the pledge at their talks in Hanoi on Tuesday as part of Lines' week-long visit to Vietnam starting on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lines came to the talks in ao dai, Vietnam's traditional long gown, which features the colors of the Australian national flag and Vietnam’s popular lotus flowers, placing herself among the very small number of foreign leaders to don the outfit when visiting the Southeast Asian country.

She is Australia's first senior leader to visit Vietnam since Hanoi and Canberra upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in March 2024.

PM Chinh extended thanks to the Australian government for its heartfelt sentiments toward late Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, especially thanking Lines for personally attending the state funeral of the Party chief in July.

Chinh expressed his delight at the strong, comprehensive, and sustainable development of the Vietnam - Australia relationship, emphasizing that the upgrading of their relationship resulted from the great efforts of both sides over more than 50 years of diplomatic relations.

The milestone opened a new chapter in the bilateral relationship, with higher political trust and broader and deeper cooperation, he added. 

Affirming that Vietnam is a crucial partner of Australia, the Australian Senate leader said that the Australian government and parliament highly prioritize relations with Vietnam in their policy for the region.

She and PM Chinh vowed to further promote the comprehensive strategic partnership in all fields including trade and investment, striving to increase two-way trade to $20 billion and double bilateral investment in the next two to three years.

Last year, the trade turnover between the two countries reached nearly $14 billion, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.  

The two sides also agreed to develop potential new areas for the two countries such as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, digital transformation, science and technology, and innovation.

They agreed to continue promoting dialogue, sharing information, enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and intensifying defense and security cooperation.

The two countries share many similarities and have a high level of strategic trust, Lines stressed, adding that the bilateral relationship has long been cultivated to achieve such excellent results today, creating a foundation for further cooperation to meet the needs and aspirations of the people of the two nations.

PM Chinh thanked Australia for continuing to support Vietnam in providing English training for its officers and helping Vietnam join United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Both sides agreed to increase people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the two nations.

The Australian Senate chief affirmed that her country always creates favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community there.

Amid the increasingly complex and unpredictable regional and global situation, as well as emerging security and strategic challenges, both the guest and host emphasized the importance of strengthening close coordination between their two nations.

They agreed on the need to work closely together at regional and international forums to contribute to building a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and prosperous Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region, with ASEAN playing a central role.

Regarding the East Vietnam Sea issue, Lines affirmed Australia's consistent support for the principled stance of Vietnam and ASEAN in ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the waters as well as resolving relevant disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

After her talks with PM Chinh, Lines met with Party General Secretary and State President To Lam on the same day, also focusing on promoting the bilateral ties. 

The Australian Senate President arrived in Vietnam on August 24 for a visit lasting until August 30 at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, who held talks with his guest in Hanoi on August 25.

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