Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne held a phone call on Thursday. —Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne agreed that the two countries reopening would create favourable conditions for bilateral ties in all fields, particularly in exchanges of delegations, economy, agriculture and labour, during their phone call on Thursday afternoon.

They expressed delight at the strong development of the Việt Nam-Australia strategic partnership despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

They highlighted the regular phone calls held between the two Prime Ministers and their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Un-Climate Change Conference COP-26 in the UK last November; and the approval of two cooperation documents, including the Vietnam-Australia Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy and the Joint Statement on Commitment to Practical Climate Action.

Minister Sơn expressed thanks and appreciated Australia’s announcement to donate more COVID-19 vaccines for Việt Nam to inoculate children, and 7.8 million doses of vaccines already delivered to Việt Nam.

He said the valuable assistance of the Australian Government would help Việt Nam speed up vaccination, making a practical contribution to the country’s COVID-19 prevention and control efforts. VNS