Vietnam, Australia Foreign Ministers hold meeting in Melbourne
WVR/VNA - On March 5, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had a meeting with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong within the framework of the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit commemorating the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations in Melbourne.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (left) and Australian counterpart Penny Wong (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Foreign Minister Son thanked the Australian official for collaboration in preparing for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Australia, expressing his belief that the Summit will be a great success.
He expressed his satisfaction with the recent progress in bilateral relations as well as in cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries.
He suggested the two sides closely coordinate in implementing support packages worth nearly 200 million AUD (130 million USD) for clean energy development and climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta region, which Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong had announced during their recent visits to Vietnam.
For her part, Foreign Minister Wong thanked the Vietnamese Government as well as Foreign Minister Son for their support and participation in the Summit, while highly valuing substantive activities that the two countries held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations last year.
She took the occasion to invite Foreign Minister Son to visit Australia again and co-chair the 6th Vietnam-Australia Foreign Ministerial meeting.
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| Overview of the meeting. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
The same day, Foreign Minister Son met with Simon Birmingham, in charge of foreign affairs of the Opposition in the Senate of Australia, during which he spoke highly of Australia’s efforts in maintaining economic and social stability and measures to address global economic uncertainties.
Foreign Minister Son also commended Birmingham's efforts in promoting Vietnam-Australia cooperation in his capacity overseeing foreign affairs of the opposition party, as well as his previous roles as Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Finance, and Minister for Trade and Investment during the period of the Coalition Government.
Birmingham affirmed that Australia attaches importance to its relations with Vietnam, considering Vietnam one of the key partners in Asia-Pacific. He stated that Australia highly values recent achievements in bilateral relations, especially in political, economic-trade-investment, defence-security cooperation, as well as in other potential areas.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (right) meet with Nicholas Moore, Australia's Special Envoy for Southeast Asia on March 5 (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
He reiterated his support for the Vietnam-Australia relationship, regardless of his position, and expressed his desire to visit Vietnam again soon.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Nicholas Moore, Australia's Special Envoy for Southeast Asia at the meeting. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
In a meeting with Foreign Minister Son on the occasion, Nicholas Moore, Australia's Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, affirmed that Australia highly values the potential for cooperation with Vietnam, especially in terms of economics, trade, and investment, noting that Vietnam holds a significant position in the implementation of Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.
