Canberra (VNA) – During his state visit to Australia, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese co-chaired a press briefing in Canberra on August 11, immediately after their talks.
PM Albanese expressed his pleasure at welcoming General Secretary and President Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, highlighting Vietnam as one of the region’s fastest-growing economies. Vietnam’s achievements, he said, are creating new opportunities for stronger bilateral cooperation.
He said the two sides have agreed to further deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, strengthen the resilience, adaptability and recovery capacity of their economies, and expand cooperation in defence, maritime affairs, border security, the digital economy, agriculture, energy, mining, science and technology, and innovation.
The two countries also have significant potential to increase trade and further strengthen economic ties, the PM said, highlighting education as another important pillar of bilateral relations, and new air routes as playing an important role in enhancing trade and people-to-people connectivity between the two countries.
Expressing his confidence that bilateral relations will continue to grow strongly, PM Albanese affirmed Australia’s readiness to work closely with Vietnam to turn cooperation opportunities into practical benefits for the people of both countries.
For his part, General Secretary and President Lam spoke highly of Australia’s policies and initiatives aimed at strengthening its engagement with Southeast Asia.
He shared with the press that the two sides held extensive discussions on major orientations to further deepen bilateral ties. Accordingly, Vietnam and Australia will step up cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, digital technology, cybersecurity, green technology and emerging technologies, while supporting each other in enhancing capacity to participate more deeply in regional and global supply chains. The two sides will also strengthen cooperation in education and training and people-to-people exchanges.
Regarding regional and international issues, the two sides agreed to enhance dialogue and build trust, ensure navigation and aviation security and safety, and settle disputes peacefully on the basis of respect for international law.
Vietnam has adopted resolutions outlining foundations for building a strong maritime nation and attaches great importance to cooperation with Australia as a major maritime power, the top Vietnamese leader affirmed.
The two countries will enhance coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, and coordinate positions on issues of shared concern, he said, encouraging Australia to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN, reinforce ASEAN centrality, and support Mekong subregion countries in developing a green and sustainable economy.
General Secretary and President Lam noted that the two sides signed a number of important cooperation documents on this occasion, expressing his confidence that with their shared determination, bilateral relations will continue to develop strongly, serving the interests of both countries' people and contributing positively to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world./.
