NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ (L) meets Governor-General of Australia David Hurley in Australia last year. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The State visit to Việt Nam by Governor-General of Australia David Hurley from April 3-6 is expected to create new momentum for the bilateral ties, according to a scholar from the University of Queensland in Australia.

Nguyễn Hồng Hải, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Futures under the University of Queensland, said the visit, in the context of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (February 26, 1973) and the 5th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership (March 15, 2018) in 2023, demonstrates the importance Australia attaches to the milestones, as well as the consensus in enhancing high-level meetings and contacts, thus consolidating the mutual political trust.

During his visit, Hurley is scheduled to meet with top leaders of Việt Nam, hold talks with President Võ Văn Thưởng, and meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ.

The researcher said that NA Chairman Huệ also met the Governor-General during his visit to Australia four months ago, during which the leaders expressed their support for upgrading the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Hurley’s trip is also hoped to contribute to enhancing people-to-people exchange and send a message to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region at large that Australia pays great attention to its relations with Việt Nam and ASEAN.

The message is quite clear – Việt Nam holds a special position in Australia’s relations with the region – Hải said, citing former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as saying during his visit in 2019 that Việt Nam was a close friend.

The researcher noted his belief that the visit will contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations and opening up strong cooperation prospects between the two countries, while creating more foundations and momentum for them to soon achieve the goal of advancing the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership this year.

Moreover, the visit would give a boost to collaboration in other spheres like national defence and security, along with innovation, climate change response, energy transition, green energy and green economy, he said. — VNS