Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (R) meets Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in Hà Nội on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Australia should increase trade and investment ties while stepping up cooperation in other important spheres such as education, culture and tourism, creating a firm foundation for the expansion and enhancement of comprehensive cooperation, said Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

Meeting Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne in Hà Nội on Thursday, PM Phúc also suggested the two sides effectively uphold the current bilateral cooperation mechanisms. 

He asked the two sides to review the implementation of the Việt Nam-Australia action programme for 2016-19 and begin the building of an action programme to implement the strategic partnership in the next period with special measures and goals to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields.

Relations between Việt Nam and Australia have been developing fruitfully in recent years, PM Phúc said, adding that Australia has annually trained nearly 30,000 Vietnamese students.

Two-way trade reached US$7.7 billion in 2018, a year-on-year rise of 19.3 per cent. Australia currently ranks 19th among 128 foreign investors in Việt Nam with total investment of over $1.84 billion, while Việt Nam is running 47 direct investment projects in Australia.

PM Phúc spoke highly of Payne’s role in and significant contributions to promoting the Việt Nam-Australia strategic partnership.

He welcomed Payne for selecting Việt Nam as one of the first countries to visit in the second week of her new working tenure.

PM Phúc hoped Australia will continue providing official development assistance (ODA) for Việt Nam and assisting it to improve administration capacity and experience in managing the economy amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution and e-government.

Regarding the East Sea issue, PM Phúc clearly stated that Việt Nam highly appreciated Australia’s viewpoint and hoped Australia will continue to have a strong voice and back the stance of ASEAN and Việt Nam with the spirit of peace, friendship, freedom of aviation and navigation, and compliance with international law.

Payne said she will spare no effort to promote the relationship between the two countries, adding that Australian PM Scott Morrison attaches great importance to cooperation with Việt Nam and hopes to visit the country soon.

She agreed to PM Phúc’s proposal on stepping up bilateral trade and investment ties, saying the CPTPP has opened up many cooperation opportunities and many Australian businesses want to increase investment in Việt Nam.

The minister said she will direct the Australian foreign ministry to expand new cooperation with Việt Nam in the spirit of strategic partnership.

Australia is willing to support Việt Nam in implementing its development priorities such as infrastructure, digital capacity and cyber security as well as continue strengthening coordination with Việt Nam in the East Sea matter to ensure regional peace, stability and prosperity, she said. — VNS