Hanoi (VNA) – The Governor-General of Australia Peter Cosgroveand his spouse on May 23 started a four-day State visit to Vietnam at theinvitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

The visit takes place at a time when the two countries are celebratingthe 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties (February 26) and bilateralties are developing strongly, with a milestone being the elevation of ties to thelevel of strategic partnership in March 2018.

The visit also affirms Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of internationalrelations as well as the great importance that Vietnam attaches to promotingfriendship and strategic partnership with Australia.

Australia considers Vietnam a key partner in the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and highly values its role in the bloc.

The two countries have cooperated effectively in the field of securityand defence through the exchange of delegations and cooperation agreements oncounter-crimes, immigration management, illegal migration prevention,information and experience sharing, and English training.

The two countries have coordinated closely at regional and internationalforums such as ASEAN, East Asia Summit (EAS), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) Forum, and the United Nations (UN).

Over the past 45 years, Vietnam and Australia have focused oncooperation in economy and trade. Australia is now the eighth biggest tradepartner of Vietnam. Two-way trade records annual average growth of over 7percent, reaching nearly 6.5 billion USD in 2017, a year-on-year rise of 22.2percent.

Australia now ranks 20th among 126 countries and territories investingin Vietnam with 412 investment projects worth 1.8 billion USD, focusing onindustry and construction, processing industry, services, education, andagro-forestry-fisheries.

Vietnam is running 44 investmentprojects in Australia with total capital of 387.1 million USD, concentrating onprocessing and manufacturing industry, arts, entertainment, mining andservices.

The official developmentassistance (ODA) constitutes an important factor in enhancing the bilateralrelationship. Australia is one of the biggest providers of non-refundable ODAfor Vietnam, averagely 92.7 million AUD in the 2013-2018 period, helping theSoutheast Asian country with poverty reduction, especially in the Mekong Delta.

Australia plans to provide anadditional 84.2 million AUD in ODA for Vietnam in 2018-2019, focusing oneconomic reform, capacity enhancement, gender equality, and livelihoodimprovement.

Bilateral cooperation in tourism,education and science-technology is also growing. In 2017, Vietnam welcomednearly 370,500 Australian visitors, up 15.5 percent against the previous year.

Regarding education, Australia isproviding nearly 100 scholarships annually for Vietnamese students. Around30,000 Vietnamese students and postgraduates are studying in Australia atpresent.-VNA