Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a welcome ceremony on June 4 morning for his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam on June 3-4.

Following the ceremony, the two Prime Ministers held talks.

This is the first official visit to Vietnam of PM Albanese since he took office, which takes place just two months after a State visit of the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley. This reflects the importance that Australia attaches to the relations with Vietnam.

Besides talks with PM Chinh, the Australian PM will also have meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

Earlier on the day, before the welcome ceremony, PM Albanese and his entourage paid floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi.

Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relationship in 1973. Over the past 50 years, bilateral ties have seen substantial and effective development, with economic and trade cooperation a bright spot. Two-way trade reached almost 15.7 billion USD in 2022, up nearly 27% from 2021. Australia is now the seventh largest trade partner of Vietnam while Vietnam is the 10th largest trade partner of Australia.

The two countries have signed a Vietnam – Australia Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES), under which they are working to bolster bilateral trade and investment cooperation.

The two sides have maintained trust and strengthened friendship, mutual understanding and respect through the exchange of delegations, contact at both central and local levels and people-to-people friendship exchanges.

The visit of PM Albanese to Vietnam is an occasion for the two countries to not only review their 50-year cooperation but also discuss opportunities to lift bilateral relations to a new height./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency