Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Nên (right) had talks with the visiting Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong at their meeting in HCM City on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Xuân Khu

HCM CITY — HCM City wants to strengthen co-operation with Australia in areas like training, energy transition, urban infrastructure development, and climate change response, Secretary of its Party Committee, Nguyễn Văn Nên, said at a reception for visiting Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong on Wednesday.

He hailed her visit to Việt Nam as helping create a new impetus in bilateral relations five years after the establishment of a strategic partnership.

Over the past five decades Việt Nam-Australia relations have been growing robustly in many fields, he said.

He also appreciated and thanked Wong for promoting co-operation with the city in investment, education and healthcare, and said it wants to strengthen co-operation with her country in areas such as high-quality human resource training, energy transition, urban infrastructure development, and climate change response.

He expressed the belief that her visit would open up many new co-operation opportunities between the governments, businesses and peoples of the two countries.

He said they share common interests and a determination to achieve breakthroughs in their relationship.

Wong said the high-level exchanges of visits between the two countries this year demonstrated their interest in building bilateral relations to achieve stable development and prosperity for the region.

Looking back on 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Australia is proud of its efforts to promote the relationship, including raising it to a Strategic Partnership and creating a basis for the two countries to advance co-operation in all fields, she said.

Australia has always identified HCM City as an important element in its bilateral relationship with Việt Nam and wants to further promote close cooperation with it in areas of mutual interest, she said.

Talking about the co-operation proposed by Secretary Nên, she said the Australian Government would provide AUD 94.5 million (US$60.76 million) to Việt Nam in support of the country's response to climate change in the Mekong Delta.

It also wants to co-ordinate with Việt Nam, including HCM City, to develop a legal framework for educational co-operation to enable Australian universities to set up campuses in the city and promote student exchanges.

Wong later visited and met with students at the University of Economics-HCM City.

Wong is visiting Việt Nam for the second time as foreign minister. — VNS