Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancée were present to greet Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse. The welcome ceremony was solemnly held and witnessed by the people of Canberra and tourists visiting the Australian Parliament House.
After the talks, the two Prime Ministers issued a joint statement on the lifting of the relationship between Vietnam and Australia to the comprehensive strategic partnership.
Having the opportunity to follow the busy activities of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the special summit celebrating 50 years of the Australia-ASEAN dialogue partnership and his official visit to Australia, I clearly saw that Vietnam's position in the international arena is especially appreciated.
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At the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the special summit |
In all events and activities, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was present in a confident, open, and close demeanor. Contents conveyed by the Vietnamese leader during meetings, speeches, and talks were close and easy to understand and touched people's hearts.
On the sidelines of the special summit commemorating 50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations held in Melbourne, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held bilateral meetings with heads of all delegations. The Vietnamese Prime Minister and leaders of participating countries had comfortable conversations like they are old friends meeting again after a long time.
Responding to the sincerity and closeness of the Vietnamese leader, Australian Governor-General David Hurley took Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on a tour around the Government House on an electric car. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to his office, introduced his family, and asked about his hobbies.
During meetings with Australian leaders and the Vietnamese community in the country, the Prime Minister thanked Australia for providing the largest doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Vietnam. The leader highly appreciated the sentiment since the Australian friends reserved precious doses of vaccine for Vietnam in the time when countries were short of COVID-19 vaccine.
From the close atmosphere of the meetings between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of Australia and other countries participating in the celebration, people could also see new development opportunities for Vietnam in the coming time.
Established more than 50 years ago, the Vietnam-Australia relations have obtained many achievements. Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 reached USD 13.8 billion. At present, Australia is Vietnam's 7th largest trading partner, while Vietnam is Australia's 10th largest partner.
Australia is one of the bilateral partners providing largest ODA and many scholarships for long-term and short-term programs for Vietnam. To date, with more than 630 projects and more than 2.03 billion USD in registered capital, Australia ranks the 20th among 145 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Vietnam has more than 90 investment projects in Australia with a total capital of more than USD 550 million.
Regarding the elevation to a comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh summarized "6 more" in the two countries' relationship. The most important thing is to create higher and more strategic diplomatic trust because it is higher and more strategic diplomatic trust that Vietnam and Australia have agreed to deepen cooperation in important areas such as politics, defense, security, and justice. Also Vietnam and Australia both share views and visions on solving regional and international challenges.
In recent days, members of the Vietnamese delegation have also witnessed the deep feelings towards the homeland of the Vietnamese community in Australia. Many overseas Vietnamese flew 1,000km to meet the Prime Minister, and they all expressed their joy and pride that the two countries have upgraded their relations and believed that this will facilitate the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in Australia. With about 350,000 people, the Vietnamese community in Australia is making important contribution to the relationship between the two countries.
As the 5th largest foreign community in Australia, Vietnamese is the 4th most popular language in the country and has been taught in all high schools as a foreign language. During meetings, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested the Australian side soon recognize the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority in Australia.
The beautiful impressions during the trip in Australia of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation have solidified confidence in the potential, prestige, international position, as well as the open future of Vietnam and belief in its right path.
Written by Ho Quang Phuong
Translated by Tran Hoai