Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese had talks on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

JAKARTA — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, on the occasion of their attendance at the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related summits.

Both PMs praised the continued exchange of delegations and high-level contacts between the two countries, as well as the effective cooperation in various areas in economy, trade, investment, national defence-security, labour, education and training, agriculture, sci-tech, tourism, aviation, locality-to-locality and people-to-people exchanges.

Albanese reaffirmed that Australia attaches great importance to enhancing relations with Việt Nam. He wished to welcome Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng to Australia soon and suggested completing the necessary internal procedures to elevate the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership at the appropriate time.

The Australian side is committed to prioritising official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, especially in areas of Việt Nam’s need such as climate change adaptation, energy transition, digital transformation, and digital economy.

The Australian PM also took note of PM Chính’s proposals regarding increased labour cooperation, education and training, and supply of more scholarships to the Vietnamese students.

The two sides vowed to continue working closely together and making active contributions to promoting dialogue, cooperation and trust building through ASEAN-led mechanisms, on the basis of respect for ASEAN's central role and consultations with ASEAN, for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

They also pledged to continue supporting ASEAN's efforts to narrow the development gap and assist less-developed regions, including the Mekong sub-region.

The two countries will also partner with Laos to successfully organise the Climate Change and Energy Transition Conference in Hà Nội later this year.

The Australian PM reiterated his invitation to PM CHính to visit Australia and attend the ASEAN-Australia Commemorative Summit in March 2024. PM Chính accepted the invitation with pleasure. — VNS