Deputy PM, FM Bui Thanh Son's visit realizes the potential of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Australian Ambassador
WVR - According to Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son's visit is an opportunity to discuss how the two countries implement Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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| Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
On the occasion of Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son's visit to Australia and co-chair the 6th Vietnam-Australia Foreign Ministers' Meeting from October 16-19, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski shared his thoughts with the World and Vietnam Report about the significance of the visit and the developments of Vietnam-Australia bilateral relations in recent years.
Dear Your Excellency, could you touch on the significance of the Vietnamese Deputy PM, FM Bui Thanh Son’s visit to Australia? What are your expectations for this visit?
This is the first visit by Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son to Australia since his last visit in March accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh when our two countries elevated relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
This makes this visit particularly significant as an opportunity to discuss how we implement our new CSP and realise the enormous potential in developing closer ties between us.
I expect that our Foreign Ministers will have very positive and fruitful discussions on our many growing areas of cooperation under our CSP, such as increasing bilateral trade and investment, climate change and the clean energy transition, maritime cooperation, strengthening regional and multilateral architecture such as ASEAN, and how Australia can continue supporting Vietnam’s long-term recovery from the devastating effects of typhoon Yagi.
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| PM Pham Minh Chinh and Australian PM Anthony Albanese witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 7 in Canberra. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Could you share some impressions on developments of Vietnam-Australia bilateral relations in recent years, especially the two countries just upgraded the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024?
The Australia-Vietnam relationship has never been closer. We are trusted partners and great friends, and we are both Indo-Pacific countries sharing a common vision for an inclusive, stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous region.
Australia was honoured to become a Comprehensive Strategic Partner of Vietnam in March – this is the highest level of relationship that Vietnam has with its foreign partners, and it reflects the strategic and political trust between our countries and the ambition we both hold for the future.
Our bilateral relationship has developed quickly and substantively in recent years because Australia and Vietnam are important for each other and complement each other. For example, our economies are highly complementary, and trade and investment between our countries has grown at an impressive rate, creating many new jobs and opportunities. We have also deepened and broadened cooperation across many critical areas such as climate, environment and energy, digital transformation and innovation, defence and security cooperation, and education.
The 350,000 Australians of Vietnamese heritage, a valuable feature of Australia’s successful multicultural society, have also been a positive factor in the recent growth of our bilateral relations and I hope they will play an even greater role in the future.
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| Signing ceremony of the Implementation Plan of the MOU between the Government of Australia and the Government of Vietnam in support of Vietnamese citizens to work in Agriculture area in Australia on March 1,2024. (Source: MOLISA) |
In Joint statement on the elevation to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam and Australia commit to deepening strategic cooperation in science, technology (including new and critical emerging technologies), cyber and innovation. What strategies are the two countries implementing to realize this goal?
Australia is committed to deepening cooperation with Vietnam in science, technology, cyber and innovation to support its sustainable and inclusive growth. During Prime Minister Chinh’s visit to Australia in March, CSIRO – Australia’s National Science Agency and Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology signed an enhanced MoU on ‘Furthering Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation’ to support delivery of Australia’s ten year Aus4Innovation development program valued at AUD $33.5 million.
Through Aus4Innovation, we have been supporting Vietnam to enhance the capability of its national innovation system, including strengthening capacity in innovation policy development and evaluation, innovation networks, and innovation funding and finance. In parallel, capacity of public researchers, SMEs, and communities are being improved through practical training and real-life experience.
Recent practical examples include supporting Vietnam to develop their first ever guidelines on ‘Responsible AI’; and awarding AUD 1.45 million in grants to share Australian Hi-tech innovation with Vietnam to support sustainable agriculture development, utilising technologies such as Geospatial data, AI and Internet-of-things.
We are currently exploring ways to help develop the capabilities of Vietnam’s semiconductor industry through our ODA and collaboration with Australian universities.
Australia and Vietnam are committed to cooperation on cyber security, which is so important for the continued prosperity and security of both Vietnam and Australia. Australia supports capacity building on cyber security for Vietnam through Australia’s Cyber and Critical Technology Cooperation Program, through which we have helped deliver dozens of awareness raising and capacity building workshops on cyber safety and security for Vietnamese officials across government, universities, think tanks and private sector. We are also now in the process of jointly developing a memorandum of understanding on cyber cooperation with Vietnam, which will further deepen our promising cooperation on cyber issues.
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| Taste of Australia is a triumphant celebration of Australian food, beverages and culture. (Photo: Minh Hien) |
The Taste of Australia’s Big BBQ 2024 in Hanoi is just around the corner. Please tell us about this special culinary cultural exchange event?
Taste of Australia’s Big BBQ in 2023 was a triumphant celebration of Australian food, beverages and culture held as part of our suite of activities during our 50th year of diplomatic relations. It was such a success, that we want to try and make it an annual event.
This year, as we mark our elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the BBQ is bigger than ever with a guest list of up to 2,000 people gathering again at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long on October 17, 2024.
Guests are a mix of Government officials, Embassy partners, Australian and Vietnamese businesses, education leaders and many other friends. It’s an event for us to come together in friendship to showcase the best of what Australia has to offer and discuss opportunities for collaboration across the vast array of work we do here in Vietnam – and it’s also to have a good time.
Thank you, Ambassador!
| "The Australia-Vietnam relationship has never been closer. We are trusted partners and great friends, and we are both Indo-Pacific countries sharing a common vision for an inclusive, stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous region." (Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski) |
