NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (C) and Speaker of Australia’s House of Representatives
Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan (R)
The top legislator made the
statement during her talks with Speaker of Australia’s House of Representatives
Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan in Canberra
on November 29 as part of her ongoing official visit to Australia.
The Vietnam NA backs the early
upgrade of the Vietnam-Australia relationship to a strategic partnership, Ngan
said, hailing effective economic cooperation between the two countries.
She noted that Australia is Vietnam’s eighth largest trade
partner with two-way trade expanding by 10 percent a year. Australia is among Vietnam’s largest non-refundable
official development assistance (ODA) providers, significantly contributing to
raising livelihood, reducing poverty, improving the environment and promoting
equality in the country.
To enhance the economic ties, the NA
Chairwoman suggested the two sides make it clear contents of the economic
partnership mechanism in order to roll out a cooperation plan with specific
activities within 3-5 years.
Ngan expressed her hope that
Australian enterprises will step up investment and cooperation with Vietnam
in such areas as high-tech agriculture, husbandry, energy, telecommunication,
finance-banking, mining and manufacturing.
She called on the Australian side to
share its management experience and transfer technologies in coal mining, red
mud treatment and environmental protection to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese top legislator urged
the two countries to increase bilateral trade towards a balance and lift trade
barriers, striving to raise the bilateral trade value to USD 10 billion in the
time to come.
She suggested Australia think twice
before deciding to conduct investigations into trade protection so as to avoid
adverse impacts on the economic links, while calling on the country to provide
technical assistance for Vietnam to help the country meet new import
requirements set by Australia, making it easier for Vietnamese agricultural
products and seafood to access the Australian market.
Ngan also appealed to Australia to continue its ODA to Vietnam,
focusing on infrastructure, agriculture and rural development, poverty
reduction, climate change response and high-quality human resource development.
Noting with joy effective
collaboration in national defense-security and the fight against crimes and
illegal migration, the NA Chairwoman proposed the two sides continue
consultation and support each other at regional forums, especially at the ASEAN
Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
She thanked Australia for sharing its
experience in anti-terrorism and peace-keeping operations, as well as
cooperation in searching for Vietnamese soldiers missing in action.
Ngan called for Australia’s further support in
implementing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on dealing with bomb and mine consequences.
She urged Vietnam
and Australia to continue
their affiliation in combating cross-border crimes, terrorists and human
traffickers, as well as illegal border crossings, along with implementing the
MoU on the return of Vietnamese with no legal right to stay in Australia
signed in 2016 in a cooperative spirit and with goodwill.
Vietnam wishes to join hands with Australia
in science, technology and innovation in order to adapt to new trends in the
world, address urgent issues and cope with climate change, she said.
The NA Chairman suggested Australia
provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students and expand its educational
collaboration with the country under different reforms, and hailed the
implementation of the vacation-labor program on March 1, 2017.
Regarding bilateral legislative
ties, Ngan urged the two countries’ legislative bodies to intensify delegation
exchange at different levels, coordinate in supervising the implementation of
cooperation agreements signed by the two Governments, exchange information
about parliamentary activities in respective countries, and enhance role and
activities of friendship parliamentarians’ groups.
Ngan’s proposals were accepted by
the Australian leaders, who said her visit is of significance, contributing to
strengthening the enhanced comprehensive partnership between the two countries,
towards a strategic partnership in 2018.
They lauded achievements Vietnam
has recorded over the past time, including those in improving people’s living
standards and spurring economic growth.
Speaker Smith affirmed that Australia will continue its ODA for Vietnam, covering projects on infrastructure
development, noting his hope that Vietnam will pay more attention to
enhancing capacity and leadership of women.
President of the Senate Ryan
described education as a spotlight of bilateral cooperation with an increasing
number of Vietnamese students in Australia in recent years.
Australia will offer more scholarships to
regional students, including those from Vietnam, within the framework of
the New Colombo Plan, he said.
During the talks, the two sides also
discussed regional and international issues of shared concern, including the East Sea
(South China Sea) issue.
They stressed the significance of
maintaining peace, stability, security, aviation and navigation freedom and
safety in the region, and handling disputes by peaceful measures, in line with
international law.
Following the talks, Australian
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull directly called NA Chairwoman Ngan, informing
that he cannot return home as scheduled to greet her due to unexpected issues
during his working trip.
Source: VNA