Hanoi (VNA) – The visit to Vietnam byAustralia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his spouse from August 22-24 isexpected to contribute to promoting the relationship between the two countrieseffectively and practically.

It takes place amidst the thriving bilateral relations and increasing politicaltrust, with the exchange of high-ranking delegations and meetings.

Vietnam and Australia officially established diplomatic ties on February 26,1973, and a comprehensive partnership in 2009. The relationship was elevated toa strategic partnership in 2018 during the official visit to Australia by PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc from March 14-17.

The two countries have effectively implemented the action programme for the2016-2019 period and are building another one for 2020-2022 to materialise thestrategic partnership.

Australia has regarded Vietnam as a key partner in the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), and an effective development partner during the reformprocess.

The two sides have maintained bilateral cooperation mechanisms, includingannual meetings at the ministerial level in such spheres as diplomacy, nationaldefence and economy, and policy dialogues in different realms.

They have fruitfully joined hands in national defence and security throughdelegation exchanges and agreements on cooperation in crime combat, exit-entrymanagement, the fight against illegal migration, information and experience sharing,English language teaching, and visits of naval ships.

The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding on collaboration in trainingpeace-keeping forces, and bomb and mine clearance in 2016. Australia assistedVietnam in performing its tasks in the United Nations peace-keeping operationsin South Sudan in 2018.

Australia is the only country that has opened a joint transnational crimecentre in Vietnam, through which the two countries have exchanged informationand cooperated in fighting terrorism, drug crime and human trafficking.

Australia is the longest-standing dialogue partner of ASEAN (since 1974). Thetwo sides set up a strategic partnership in 2014. Australia has applaudedVietnam’s role in the region.

Vietnamese and Australian leaders have repeatedly affirmed their common vision ofmaintaining peace and stability in the region, including the East Sea. Theyhave also emphasised the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures in linewith international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on theLaw of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

Currently, Vietnam is the fourth largest trade partner of Australia in theASEAN bloc, while the latter is the 7th largest of the SoutheastAsian country. Two-way trade has inched up 8.8 percent each year on average. Theirtrade revenue grew 19.3 percent to 7.7 trillion USD in 2018, with Vietnam’sexports valued at nearly 4 billion USD. In the first six months of 2019, totaltrade volume was estimated at 3.84 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 6.1 percent.

By the end of June, Australian investors had registered over 1.86 billion USDin 458 projects in Vietnam, ranking 20th among the 131 countries andterritories having investments in the country. In the meantime, Vietnam had 53projects worth 247 million USD in Australia.

As one of the largest providers of official development assistance (ODA) forVietnam (around 66 million USD each year during 2013-2018), Australia hasfunded various essential infrastructure in the country, including 61 millionUSD My Thuan bridge and 108.7 million USD Cao Lanh bridge.

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Australia continues to fund 78.2 million AUD(53.12 USD) for projects in economic reform, enhancing capacity in genderequality, and livelihood improvement in Vietnam.

Vietnam and Australia have been sharing a history of education and trainingcooperation. Australia has provided many short-term and long-term fellowshipsfor Vietnamese students. There was a time the number of scholarships granted toVietnamese nationals reaching 400, and now it is maintained at 100 each year.Currently, there are some 31,000 Vietnamese graduates and postgraduates inAustralia.

Besides, there are 18 education exchange programmes carried out by universitiesand institutes in both nations. Particularly, the Australian Government’s NewColombo Plan, which creates opportunities for Australian undergraduates toundertake semester-based study and internships or mentorships in 40participating Indo-Pacific locations, has attracted many Australian studentsand scholars to Vietnam. Around 2,500 Australians have come to Vietnam underthe programme during 2015-2019.

Regarding science-technology and innovation, both nations announced thecreation of the Vietnam-Australia Innovation Partnership in November 2017, andthe Aus4Innovation programme, a 10 million AUD develop assistance programme, isbeing enacted under the innovation partnership. Its focal objective is tostrengthen Vietnam’s innovation system, prepare for and embrace opportunitiesassociated with Industry 4.0, and help shape Vietnam’s innovation agenda inscience and technology.

In tourism, the number of Australian arrivals in Vietnam has increased throughyears. Last year, Vietnam hosted 386, 934 Australian tourists, a year on yearsurge of 4.1 percent. In the first four month of this year, the numberincreased 6.6 percent year on year to 14,997.

As Vietnam and Australia began the reciprocal work and holiday visa arrangementfrom March 2015, more people have chances to visit and work in both nations.

There are around 300,000 Vietnamese people in Australia, creating the 5th largest community in the nation.

Both sides have enjoyed sound collaboration at regional and internationalforums like the ASEAN, East Asia Summit (EAS), Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC), and the United Nations (UN).

During his stay in Vietnam, besides talks and meetings with Vietnam’s topleaders, PM Scott Morrison will meet with excellent businesses of bothcountries, and have an exchange with the UN’s peacekeeping force at the VietnamMilitary Medical University.

His visit will bear a hallmark in the robust Vietnam-Australia relations.-VNA